Once upon a time there was this Meta-Crisis
by ScarletPoison1987
Summary: Rose and the Meta-Crisis Doctor don't get long to adjust before they're in trouble again. But, for the Doctor and Rose, what exactly is "normal?" Copyright to the BBC.
1. Chapter 1

And so there they were, stuck together. It wasn't so bad. Rose was feeling conflicted. But how could she not, given the circumstances? The Doctor had said that the Meta-Crisis Doctor was a price that they paid, that he was born in blood and battle. But watching him kick rocks around with his red trainers, hands pushed deep into his pockets, she just didn't see that side of him.

_What now?_ She wondered. _Is this it?_ Is this their happily ever after? No, she was getting ahead of herself. They beat the Daleks and shared one kiss. It wasn't as if he had proposed. Oh, God…could she even imagine the Doctor proposing? It was too surreal.

"Did you have to strand us in bloody Norway? We're regular people. We 'aven't got a time machine that we can just hop in anytime we want and be on the moon. Now I've got to call Pete and he 'as to send Torchwood to come pick us up," Jackie Tyler groaned, going over to smack the Doctor on the arm.

"Oi," he protested, backing away from her. "It wasn't me. Well, it was. Sort of. But still, that's enough with the hitting."

"I'm gonna kill you if I ever see that…you again," Jackie said, gesturing to the spot where the TARDIS had been, only moments before.

"Doubt you'll ever have the chance," the Doctor said with a tired look in his brown eyes.

"How am I even going to explain to Pete that the Doctor grew another Doctor out of his 'and and dropped you off here with us? He's going to think I've gone bonkers."

"Oh, I think he'll understand just fine," the Doctor said, smiling. "He's taken everything else in stride. How did he feel about you jumping dimensions, by the way?"

Jackie's back straightened, "He didn't know. But it wasn't because I kept it from him. I just didn't want him to worry. I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"I can see that, Jackie Tyler. I'd hate to be the one to try to tell you 'no.' That one over there gets that from you, you know," he inclined his head in Rose's direction.

"Don't be talkin' about me," Rose said, finally weighing in.

"Only good things," the Doctor said, the corners of his mouth turning up ever so slightly.

"So what are we going to do with you now?" Jackie asked, pushing buttons on her mobile.

"Isn't that the question of the day?" the Doctor responded.

"Ah, we'll figure out," Jackie said, walking away to talk to Rose's dad.

Rose sat in the wet sand, staring out at the water. The Doctor came over to sit beside her, resting his hands on his knees and glancing back and forth from her to the sea that she was staring so intently at.

"We never did make it to Barcelona, did we?" he asked. "Meant to, just got side tracked so often. I wonder if this dimension has that planet…Barcelona. S'pose we could find out, once I get this TARDIS grown. Still want to go?"

"Allons-y?" She asked, giving him a small smile.

"Oh, did I tell you that I finally met someone named Allonso? I did. Aboard the Titanic; the spaceship, not the actual one."

"He did," she said softly.

"Sorry?" he asked.

"He met someone named Allonso. You weren't created yet, remember?"

"Rose…" he started to say, his eyes narrowing.

"You're not him," she said, looking back out to the water.

"Well, I'm not a Slitheen, if that's what you're thinking," he said sighing.

"He's still out there. I spent all that time trying to find him and then he drops me off here and runs off again."

"Then it's a good thing that I'm not him. I didn't strand you in Norway."

"How can you act like this is perfectly normal? It's so strange. It's so…" she broke off.

"Alien?" he asked. "I suppose it is. And it isn't fair to you. Wasn't fair the first time I regenerated on you, but you were able to overlook that. That's all this is, Rose; another regeneration. Only this time, I'm part human. But I'm still me. I'll always be me."

"But he's still out there," she repeated. "There's another you."

"There's always another me," he said, matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"When you met me, I was nine hundred years old and in my ninth body. Think about that. So, yeah, for me this is perfectly normal. Weeell, maybe not peeerfectly normal. But normal enough," the Doctor shrugged. "And I'm a time traveler. For me, everything can be the present. I'm always running around at different points in time depending on what angle you look at it. I could be battling witches with Shakespeare and know that a different me is also on a planet light years away at the same date in time. I've even teamed up with more than one other me before. It's all wibbly wobbly. I guess I've gotten used to it."

"Well, I haven't," she said, shaking her blonde hair and sighing.

"Think about it this way," he said. "You're sitting here, with me now, yes?"

"Yeah," she answered, hesitantly.

"And you were also with me, hundreds and thousands of years in the future and hundreds of years in the past. We watched the Earth burn up. We saved people on the New Earth. We sat underneath a black hole on a spaceship. We also met Queen Victoria and Charles Dickens. There are other versions of you running around in the other dimension."

"That all already happened," she said, turning to face him. "It's the past."

"In your timeline, yes. But not in the timeline of the universe."

"I'm here, on a beach in Norway in another dimension. But in the future, I'm also back in the other dimension, possessed by Cassandra and running from cat nurses. Is that what you're saying?"

"See, always knew you were brilliant," he said, perking up and smiling ear to ear.

"But, in my timeline, the Doctor also just left me on a beach in Norway," Rose said as she brushed sand off of her pants.

"The Doctor is sitting right here next to you," he said. "That version of me, the full-blooded Time Lord version of me, left. There's also a version of me wearing a long scarf and a big brimmed hat flying in the TARDIS with Sarah Jane Smith out there somewhere. I'm also stranded on Earth, working for Unit and driving a car named 'Bessie.' I'm also out there, somewhere, giving my granddaughter advice. And I'm also out there, somewhere, holding your hand for the first time and saying, 'run.' Honestly, you call yourself a time traveler? I once changed my entire body, every cell…and my personality…right in front of you. And this is strange?"

"I see your point," she said. "But what about you? I get that you're used to regenerating, but you've always been a Time Lord before. Doesn't it feel different than shrinking, growing, new hair, new teeth? You're part human now."

"A very new Doctor," he said, nodding. "The body is different. The same, but different. This ticker is going to take some getting used to," he said, patting his chest. "All in all, though, I've had worse." The Doctor tapped his head with his index finger. "This is still all Time Lord. Good thing, too. I've changed my complete biological makeup before and became a full human. Your minds are so limited."

"Oi," Rose exclaimed.

"Sorry," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Old habits. See, I'm still as rude as ever."

"So what now?" she asked, noticing that her mum was coming back their way.

"Dunno," he admitted, standing up and reaching for her hand to pull her up out of the sand. "But isn't that the beauty of it? Don't ya see, Rose? Brand new adventure. One that only we can have."


	2. Chapter 2

The ride back to London in the zeppelin was awkward, at first. The Doctor stared out the window while Rose stared at her shoes. And Jackie kept staring at the both of them, arms crossed. Probably trying to read them. Rose almost chuckled at that. Good luck trying to read the Doctor.

"Did I tell you that I met Shakespeare?" the Doctor piped up.

"You mentioned it," Rose said.

"Oh, he's just as brilliant as you would expect. Fought witches with him, Martha and I did."

"How'd you do that?" she asked, grateful for the lack of silence.

"Beat them with spells from Harry Potter," he said, flashing that mile wide grin.

"You didn't," she said, laughing.

"Weeell, I didn't. It was Martha's idea. Worked, though." He then proceeded to fill them in on the years that he had spent traveling with Martha and Donna. He only told them funny or amazing things and Rose had a feeling that he was leaving out the darker things. But she understood why and let him entertain them with stories about Agatha Christie, Jadoon, or the Ood. By the end of the ride, even her mum was enthralled.

When they landed in London at the Torchwood institute, no one questioned them or pressed them on the issue of jumping dimensions and coming back here with a human/Time Lord hybrid. Rose was expecting to be debriefed, at least. She had a feeling that her mum had something to do with that. Everyone at Torchwood was familiar with the wrath of Jackie Tyler, especially after she found out that they were letting her daughter jump dimensions. She had probably threatened them all within an inch of their lives to leave Rose alone for the night.

The minute that they exited the zeppelin, they were surrounded by a team in black Kevlar and Rose eyed the Doctor warily. His face was a mask, but Rose knew him well enough to see the subtle changes in his posture. His back straightened out and his chin lifted as he surveyed each and every person standing around them. He didn't trust them, and that probably had something to do with the guns that they were carrying.

"Pete has done very good job making Torchwood better," he said to Rose, arching one eyebrow and giving her a certain look. She knew that look. It was a disapproving look.

"They're stun guns, Doctor. Torchwood has a very firm rule about unnecessary violence."

"All violence is unnecessary," he said, sniffing. Rose decided to let that one go, since he had just committed genocide. But, knowing the Doctor, he wasn't taking that lightly.

"Well maybe now that you're here, you can help us improve it even more," Rose suggested.

"Is that what you want?" he asked.

"Aren't we the defenders of the Earth, yeah?" she asked, smiling and pushing her tongue through her teeth.

"That we are," he admitted, holding back a chuckle. "I suppose we do have an obligation, then."

"Mrs. Tyler, Miss Tyler, it's a pleasure to have you home," a man said from their right side. It was Richard, her father's second in command. He was a pleasant sort of fellow in his mid-forties with sandy blonde hair and kind gray eyes. He was wearing a black suit, not Kevlar. And he didn't carry a gun. Perhaps, Rose though, the Doctor would take more to him.

"We've 'ad a very long day, Richard," Jackie said. "We just want to go home and rest."

"Quite right, Mrs. Tyler. We've arranged for a car. If you'll follow me," he said as he started to lead the way. "It's especially an honor to meet you, Doctor. I'm Richard Marseille. I assist Pete Tyler in running Torchwood." He extended his hand in the Doctor's direction.

The Doctor shook Richard's hand and nodded, still darting his eyes about at the bustle of the landing strip, washed in spot lights. "Looks like you've made some changes to Torchwood, Richard. It's a lot different than I remember it. I'm curious, just how many employees do you have now?"

"Doctor," Rose cautioned, rolling her eyes.

"It's alright, Miss Tyler," Richard said, offering her a shy smile. "Right down to business, then?" he asked the Doctor.

"That's me," the Doctor said. "All business."

"We'll have all sorts of time for that later, if you don't mind. I'm under specific instruction to see you home safely for the night before we think about starting any serious discussion."

"And you always follow specific instruction," the Doctor said, a mocking lilt in his voice.

"When it comes from Mrs. Tyler over here…yes, I do," Richard said firmly.

Jackie gave the Doctor her best "dare to challenge me?" look.

"You're a wise man, Richard," the Doctor admitted, finally letting his guard down.

All four of them slid into the back of a black town car. The minute that they started to drive, the windows immediately went black and they lit up green with night vision. Rose and her mum were expecting this. However, the Doctor was not.

"Blimey," he enthused, unbuckling himself and leaning forward to stare at the street out the window. "Oh, look at that." He pulled out a sonic screwdriver and started scanning the console of the car. "This is highly advanced technology for your time. How'd you all come up with this?"

"It's from alien tech that fell through the rift. We use it mostly for the paparazzi and our protection. Where'd you get a sonic, anyway?" Rose asked.

"Had a couple spares lying around the TARDIS. It still needs some work. This one has a couple of broken settings," he said as he hit it against the palm of his hand. The sonic blinked a couple times and then buzzed in protest. "Hair dryers interfere with it something awful. And it needs a good charging," he said, frowning and sticking it back in his jacket. "Still, better than no sonic at all. How am I supposed to defend the Earth without a sonic? With a kettle and some string?"

"I'd like to see that," Richard said, grinning.

The Doctor grinned back at him, "Well, if I can't get this charged, you might get to."

It seemed to Rose that the Doctor and Richard were getting on better. Good thing, too. She had a feeling that the Doctor wouldn't be able to keep his nose out of Torchwood business, especially if she continued to work there.

They pulled up to the Tyler mansion and said their goodnights to Richard. Rose knew her mum would want at least one cuppa before bed, and that was fine with her. Truth be told, as exhausted as she was, she didn't think that she'd be able to just go right to sleep. Her mind was racing and she was too keyed up from the day's events. She wondered how the Doctor felt. He didn't seem tired in the least bit. Then again, he never did. She knew that he slept, only because he told her that he did. She had never been awake when he wasn't, except for that time on Christmas day right after he regenerated. But that hardly seemed to count as sleeping. And he was part human now, but what that meant for his bodily functions, she hadn't a clue and doubted that she ever really would.

Pete greeted them at the door and pulled both Rose and Jackie in for a hug. "If you ever disappear on me again, Jacks, I swear I'll lose it. Where's Mickey? He's can't hide from me forever. Can't believe he let you jump around with the dimension cannon."

Jackie shook her head. "He didn't come back with us. He stayed in the other dimension. And don't blame him. I was gonna go, whether he came or not. Mickey came with to look after me."

Rose hadn't even had a chance to think about what she felt about Mickey leaving. Now that everyone fell silent at the thought of his absence, she realized that she had just lost a good friend. The Doctor must have noticed her fallen expression, because he reached out and simply held her hand, running his thumb over her knuckles. When she looked up him, his eyes seemed troubled. She forced a smile.

"He's not alone, though. Mick's got Martha and Jack. He'll probably work for Torchwood there. So I'm sure that they'll see the other Doctor and Donna again, right?" Rose asked the Doctor, trying to turn the situation around.

The Doctor swallowed thickly. "Right," he said softly. There was something in his voice that bothered Rose, but she decided that now was not the time to prod.

"And you, Doctor," Pete said, turning to face him. "It's good to see you again. Jacks told me that you're some sort of Meta… Cycle… clone of the Time Lord Doctor?"

"Meta-Crisis. I'm a Meta-Crisis clone," the Doctor said. "Basically, Pete, all you need to know is that I'm an exact replica of the Doctor…thoughts, mannerisms, memories, intellect… I am the Doctor, I just have a human body now."

"So he gave this dimension a Doctor of our very own?" Pete asked, joshing.

"Yep," the Doctor said, rocking back on his heels. "You could say that."

"Can we take this into the kitchen?" Jackie asked. "I'm dying for a cuppa. Is Tony in bed?"

"Yeah," Pete answered her as they all trudged through the expansive house. "He's been in bed for a while. I promised him that his mummy would be here in the morning."

"Aw," the Doctor said, pulling up a chair at the kitchen table. "I was looking forward to meeting little Tony Tyler. Tony Tyler…sounds like something out of a comic book."

Jackie put the kettle on and they all sat around, telling Pete everything that happened in the Medusa Cascade.

"Torchwood will want to talk to you about all this," Pete said, looking at Rose.

"Yeah? Well, they can bloody well wait until she's recuperated," Jackie said firmly. "My daughter will be taking a couple of days off."

"Mum, you can't just call me into work like I'm home sick from school," Rose said, sighing.

"No, Jacks, you can't. Good thing I know your boss. I'm pretty sure he'll let you have a couple of days," Pete said with a smile. "And you will need some time to get acclimated, Doctor. But I do know that Torchwood will be pushing for me to bring you in as well."

"You aren't going to probe me, are you?" the Doctor teased.

"Nah, nothing like that. But they'll be on me about getting you to come aboard. You know, you're welcome to, if it's something that you're interested in." After looking at Jackie's expression, he added, "But we can talk about all that later."

"Pete, I will be interested in talking about it later. But for now, we'll just go one day at a time," the Doctor said, extending his hand to Pete. After they shook on it, he said, "Blimey, one day a time. That'll take some getting used to."

"The guest bedroom has carpets, Doctor," Rose said conspiratorially. "You sure you're alright with that?"

"Don't know how I'll cope." He shook his head and smirked at her.

"Guest bedroom?" Jackie asked.

"Mum," Rose said, cautioning her.

"No, no. That's fine. I was assuming…" she trailed off when she noticed Rose's horrified expression and the Doctor's rigid posture. "Yeah, the guest room has lovely carpets."

"Good," the Doctor said, perking up. "Carpets are good. I like carpets just fine. Berber, shag, woven… always been alright with me. What color are the carpets?"

"White," Rose said, suddenly very interested in her tea mug.

"Actually, they're eggshell," Jackie corrected.

"Eggshell, really?" the Doctor asked, leaning forward and raising his eyebrows as if it were very important information.

"Hate to leave this lively conversation about carpets," Pete said, rolling his eyes. "But I do have to go to work in the morning. Jacks, we should head on up."

"Yeah," Jackie said, obviously relieved at an excuse to leave the room. "Goodnight, Sweet'eart," she said as she kissed Rose on the top of her head. "G'night, Doctor."

"Night, Jackie," the Doctor mumbled.

"Oh, Doctor," Pete said, sticking his head back into the kitchen. "I had someone pick up some stuff for you when Jacks called earlier to say that you'd be staying here. There are some pajamas and a toothbrush and stuff in the upstairs hall bathroom. We had to guess your size. I hope they fit alright."

"Thank you, Pete. I'm sure everything will be just fine."

"My mum has a big mouth," Rose said when her parents had finally went upstairs.

"Eh, she means well," the Doctor offered. "At least she isn't hitting me. I'm not very fond of the hitting." He then made an exaggerated frown. "Or the shouting."

They sat for a moment in the quiet. The Doctor started drumming his long fingers on the table in time with the kitchen clock. "Soo…," the Doctor said, awkwardly. "What's the plan, then?"

"Plan?" Rose asked, absentmindedly.

"Are we going to sit in the kitchen all night? Go to sleep? What are we going to do tomorrow? You have the day off, and I seem to be free for a while. We could see a film or take a walk. Both, if you want. Oooh, we could see some museums. I wonder if the Earth's history is much different here. Do you know anything about that? I don't. Brand new Earth for me." He reached forward and grabbed a biscuit from the tray in the center of the table and popped it in his mouth. "I'll get this new TARDIS grown, you just see if I won't. Whole new universe to discover. Never had that before. Well, at least not in the past some hundreds of years. But, for the time being, exploring a whole new, new, new, new Earth will have to suffice. Why are you staring at me?"

"You have sugar on your face," Rose told him, giggling.

The Doctor wiped at his nose with the back of his hand.

"No, come 'ere," she said, leaning forward and brushing his cheek with her hand. She wasn't paying attention to the proximity of her body to his. For the moment, she was only concerned with the sprinklings of powdered sugar that were stuck to him. She moved her hand to his chest to wipe away the crumbs on his lapel. Her hand lingered there, over his single heart. When she looked up at him, the emotion in his eyes contrasted greatly with the stone set of his jaw. Then, she realized just how close their faces were. "We should get some sleep," she said, letting out the breath that she was holding.

He swallowed audibly. "Yeah," he said slowly, his voice gruff. Neither one of them made an attempt to move. They just sat there, staring at each other for a moment. "Rose," he finally said in a hoarse whisper.

"Yeah, Doctor?" she asked, her eyes not leaving his.

"There's a tiny human wearing space ship pajamas not five feet to our left," he said, the corners of his mouth playing at a smile.

Rose spun herself around in her chair, "Tony!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I'm not sleepy," the little boy said, trotting over to the table and climbing up in an empty chair. "I want to have a tea party too."

The Doctor laughed loudly at this and handed Tony a biscuit.

"Tony, it's very late. We were going to bed," Rose said, getting up from the table and taking their cups to the sink.

"Who are you?" the three year old asked with wide eyes.

"I'm the Doctor," the Doctor said, munching on another biscuit.

"Sissy!" Tony shouted. "He's not lost anymore. You found him."

The Doctor set his half eaten biscuit back on the plate, his face somber. "From the mouth of babes."

"Rose is good at finding thing," Tony kept chattering away. "I lost my 'onic screwdriver once. But Sissy found it so I could save the day again. Were you really lost?"

"Very much so," the Doctor said, giving Rose a meaningful look.

"But Sissy found you," Tony said, nodding.

"Yeah, I found him," Rose said, shooting a sad smile at the man sitting at her kitchen table. "Now, it's off to bed with you. We'll see you in the morning. Come on." She went over and started to lead Tony away by the hand. "I'll see you in the morning, mister?" she asked the Doctor.

"You bet your buttons," he called out. Rose shot him a quizzical look. "Don't know why I said that," he said, scrunching up his face and shaking his head.

After putting Tony back to bed, Rose spent a great deal of time in her bathroom, going through her bedtime routine as slowly as possible. It calmed her, grounded her. It was something normal, something human. She finally collapsed on her unmade bed and felt something poking her through the sheets. It was a notebook of unread research for work that she had been meaning to get to for quite some time. Truth be told, she was never that interested in it since she didn't think that she'd be coming back to this universe. That notebook seemed to mock her and all of her intentions. She threw it across the room, scattering papers all over the floor. But then she shrugged her shoulders, sighed, and scooped them all up to set on her dresser. She felt like she should be upset. She should be furious or sad. Nothing had turned out the way that she had planned. It was strange, then, that she was so calm. Even though she knew that what she had originally wanted to happen when she jumped dimensions hadn't happened at all, she found herself…not minding the outcome.

_Huh_, she thought, _I really don't mind, do I? And it's because of him._

Rose listened to the water running in the hall bathroom and didn't fall asleep until she heard the door to the guest bedroom close. _Maybe I am getting too used to this alien stuff_, she thought as she drifted off. No, she didn't mind at all.


	3. Chapter 3

The Doctor was sitting at the kitchen table with Pete in the morning when Rose came downstairs. The man was impossible. He was in the suit that he wore yesterday. It wasn't wrinkled at all. His hair was still perfect. His eyes were bright and alert. She had taken the time to shower and dress, but she didn't feel as bushy tailed as he looked.

"Morning, Rose!" the Doctor said in a very chipper voice.

"Alien," she said accusingly and shuffled over to the tea kettle.

The Doctor furrowed his brow and cocked his head to the side.

"Don't mind her," Pete said, jerking his thumb in Rose's direction. "She's always like that in the morning."

"She didn't used to be," the Doctor mused. "She used to come dancing out of her bedroom on the TARDIS, listening to that popping music she liked so much."

"Pop music," Rose corrected, laughing at the Doctor despite her bleary state. "And I'll be popping in no time, just let me have a cup 'o tea first, yeah?"

"So what are you two crazy kids up to today?" Pete asked, flipping through a magazine.

"Dunno," the Doctor admitted. "Whatever Rose wants to do. She's in charge now. I'm _her_ companion for the time being."

"Well, then you're really in for it," Jackie said, entering the room in a pink, fluffy bathrobe.

"What are your plans today, love?" Pete asked Jackie as he stood to give her a peck on the cheek. The Doctor was grinning like a maniac at this. _He thinks he's quite the matchmaker_, Rose mused, smiling into her tea cup.

"I promised Tony last week that we'd go to Avalon today, before I knew I'd be jumping dimensions, and he hasn't let me forget it," she lamented.

"Avalon?" the Doctor asked, cup halfway to his mouth.

"It's this huge kid's play place," Rose explained. "Bouncy castles and cartoon dragons and knights. It's a nightmare."

"I've never been in a bouncy castle," the Doctor said.

"Oh, no. That's not where we're going today," Rose said. Noticing the Doctor's fallen expression, she added, "Maybe some other time."

After Pete had left for work and Jackie got Tony out the door, they were left alone again.

"Alright, then, Rose Tyler…I'm all yours," the Doctor said, spreading out his arms. "What are you going to do with me?"

What a loaded question. Actually, all she wanted to do was stay home and talk. She had so many questions. So many things that she wanted to know. But Rose knew that wasn't going to fly. This was the Doctor, after all. Human body or not, he still had the same personality and it didn't take a Time Lord brain to figure out that he wouldn't want to sit still for very long or have some deep, personal discussion about feelings. Maybe, she thought, that was for the best. That was part of the reason that she was so fond of him. After what they had just been through, looking back wasn't going to help. Maybe they should just keep running.

"We'll hit a few museums and art galleries. That was a good idea. I know a couple that you might be interested in. There's a new science museum that just opened, actually. Political history here, as far as I can tell, isn't that different. But science, on the other hand, is way more advanced," she stood up and started putting some jam on her toast. "And then," she paused and treaded lightly on this subject, "we'll need to pick you up a few things."

"Things?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah, ya know…things and stuff."

He ran his tongue over his teeth. "I have a toothbrush and a nice pair of jimjams."

"Another set of clothes would be nice," Rose added.

"I need money for all that…" he trailed off, "Don't I? Ah, yes, I'll need money. We'll get things after I get money."

"Doctor," Rose said, "I have money. We'll handle it."

"Out of the question," the Doctor sniffed.

Rose leaned against the counter, grinning and shaking her head. "You said that you're my companion today. That means that I'm in charge."

"Yeah…but…"

"Nope. What I say goes. No arguing."

"You can't just win an argument by telling me not to argue." The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Just did," Rose said, leaving the room.

After spending the day in a few museums (and their little shops), Rose did manage to convince the Doctor to let her buy him no more and no less than three new suits, another pair of pajamas, and some toiletries. It was no easy feat, to be sure. He complained that the only proper suits on Earth were made in the 1920's. And after shucking numerous expensive garments over the walls of dressing rooms in his disdain, they finally found a little thrift shop that met his taste. They ate some chips afterwards, before getting a call from Jackie telling them not to ruin their dinner, but Rose insisted that they finish up because her mother made horrendous casseroles. All in all, Rose felt herself feeling as though it had been a very enjoyable day. They walked back to the Tyler Mansion laughing, the Doctor holding numerous bags and Rose's hand. She wondered if this new domestic life would lose its novelty for him after a while. He certainly seemed to be enjoying himself now, but weeks from now would he feel the same way or would he begin to feel restless? Maybe she did need to push him towards Torchwood a bit. He would probably fare better if he had puzzles to solve, technology to tinker with, issues to poke and prod, people to educate and stare at him in awe as he babbled in tech-jargon.

Upon entering the house, they were greeted with the sounds of a child screaming and the Doctor dropped all the bags in the hallway and went racing toward the source of the ruckus. Rose quickly followed, trying to catch up with him and wondering what on Earth had Tony so upset. The Doctor skidded to a halt in the sitting room and Rose almost went sprawling in her haste not to barrel right into him.

Tony Tyler was lying on his back in the middle of the room, tears streaking his face, wailing as loudly as he could. Jackie Tyler was sitting on the couch in front of the tantruming toddler, rubbing her temples and shaking her head. Her hair was frizzed and coming undone and her eyes were red and squinted.

The Doctor drug a hand down over his face and rubbed his jaw in confusion. "I thought someone was being murdered," he said, eyes wide. "He always this loud? They could hear him on Clom."

"No, Tony doesn't usually throw fits like this," Rose said, pushing past the Doctor and going to squat down in front of the child. "Hey, hey. It's Rose, Tony. What's the matter with you, eh?"

Tony kept on squalling.

"Took him to Avalon today," Jackie said. "We 'ad a lovely afternoon. But he's been like this since we got home."

"Alright, then," Rose said, scooping the still sobbing child up and carrying him out. "It's bedtime for you."

"I WANT TO GO BACK!" Tony screamed defiantly.

"Back to Avalon?" the Doctor asked him.

Tony nodded his little head and started to cry again.

"I told you, Sweet'eart," Jackie said to him, "Mummy's got errands to run. We'll go again next week. There's no reason to go every day."

At that, Tony wailed some more.

"We could take him," the Doctor offered, and then jumped away from Rose when she went to pinch his arm.

"Oh, would you?" Jackie asked, looking mighty relieved.

"Yeah," Rose said through clenched teeth. "I s'pose we could."

"We can go to the bouncy castle?" Tony asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Sure we can," the Doctor said helpfully. "We'll go in the morning. I want to see this bouncy castle. Never been in one. I'm excited to see what all the fuss is about."

Tony smiled. "I'm a good knight. I'll show you how good I am!"

"I bet you're the best. I can tell you're very gallant," the Doctor said to him.

"And brave knights don't throw fits like this," Rose said, carting Tony up the stairs. "Try to be a big boy, yeah? And we'll have so much fun tomorrow."

Jackie leaned forward on the sofa and buried her face in her hands. The Doctor shifted uncomfortably on his heels and tugged on his ear, waiting for Rose to come back downstairs.

"Ugh, I'm just knackered," Jackie sighed, finally standing up. "He's been screaming for hours. It's a wonder his voice still works, the way he was carryin' on. Not like that place is anything to get so worked up over anyway. Screamin' kids, bright colors, cheap food. You're gonna regret goin' there tomorrow, mark my words," she said, pointing at the Doctor. "But thanks for takin' him."

"Uh…don't mention it," the Doctor said, raising an eyebrow.

"What was all that about?" Rose asked, coming down and following them into the kitchen.

"Your father's workin' all the time. You were workin' all the time. I pulled him out of that awful daycare after they told me that 'his imagination is too active.' Can you believe it? Too active," Jackie rambled, slopping some casserole onto three plates and sliding them across the table to Rose and the Doctor. "I'll show them some imagination. He's just bored, is all. Tired of being kooked up here with me. Pete wanted me to get him a nanny. A nanny, really? I told him, I said, 'Pete Tyler, I don't know what bein' rich 'as taught you, but I raise my own children, thank you very much.' Raised you by myself, didn't I? You saved whole worlds."

"That she did," the Doctor said, giving Rose a proud smile that made her breath catch.

"The weather will be nicer here soon," Rose said, consoling her mother. "Then he'll be able to run around outside."

"Anyway, enough about all that," Jackie said. "How was your day?"

The Doctor regaled Jackie will all the fascinating little historical differences between this universe and the other one. To her credit, Jackie acted very interested in all his musings. Rose delighted in the way that they were getting along and knew that it was because Jackie was just relieved to have Rose home safe and sound with no threat of her running off to other dimensions. _Nope, no worryin' about that now, _Rose thought, sadly.

Pete came home shortly, and after shoveling some casserole down, he and the Doctor stepped out to his workshop in the back garden to tinker around with some more things from Torchwood. At first, the Doctor seemed apprehensive about getting involved. He kept glancing over to Rose, as if to see if it was alright with her.

"Go on," Rose said. She could see that his eyes were practically twinkling with the thought of chemical compounds, reversing polarities, crossing wires, combining cables, rerouting mainframes, and whatever else he was always jabbering about. And Pete was even more incorrigible than the Doctor. He was practically giddy with the thought of the Doctor taking a look at the more advanced alien tech that Torchwood hadn't been able to figure out.

"You just watch that you don't blow yourselves up out there," Jackie warned.

"Oi," the Doctor said indignantly. "Jackie Tyler, when have I ever blown anything up?"

Rose scrunched up her face.

"You hold your tongue," he said, pointing at Rose. "I saw that look." With that, he went scampering off after Pete.

"Haven't 'ad a chance to be alone with you since we got back," Jackie said as she handed Rose a cup of tea. "The two of you have been joined at the hip. Guess that much hasn't changed."

"Yeah," Rose said, knowing where this conversation was going.

"How are you feelin' about everything?" her mum asked her.

"I dunno, Mum. A bit confused, I guess. I mean, it's like the Doctor is here but he isn't. Not really. But…he is," Rose said, chewing on her nails.

"He seems like the Doctor to me," Jackie said, pulling Rose's hand away from her mouth. She hated it when Rose bit her nails.

"But he's not, though," Rose said weakly.

"I'm not Pete's Jackie and he's not my Pete," Jackie argued. "But we are though, at the same time."

"That's different," Rose said.

"Is it?" Jackie asked. "Rose, are you going to waste time worrying about how much he is or isn't the Doctor or are you going to be happy that the Doctor is here at all? I mean, you might not 'ave gotten exactly what you wanted, but you got him. Are you tellin' me that just him isn't enough? You have to have the whole alien, time travelin' thing or nothin' at all? It was him that you wanted, wasn't it?"

"Yeah…"

"Well then, Sweet'eart, what are you waitin' for? A big blue box to come crashin' through the door? 'Cuz that isn't going to 'appen. He's out there; right in our garden. Life is too short to waste it lookin' though dimensions. If losin' your father the first time taught me anythin' at all, it's that we need to be grateful for the time that we get with those we love. It could be gone tomorrow. And you'd better believe that your father and I were grateful when we found each other again, no matter how it worked out."

"I just need a little time, Mum," Rose said, taking a sip of her tea. "And he does too. We're doing fine. Takin' things slow isn't a bad thing. It's only been a day."

"Just don't take things too slow," Jackie warned. "Or else you might never get the chance."


	4. Chapter 4

Rose helped her mum clean up dinner, and then sat quietly in the kitchen and looked over the Torchwood documents that she had been putting off. At least, that was her excuse to sit by herself for a while. She wasn't really doing all that much reading. What did her mum expect her to do? Run out to the workshop and snog the (obviously would-be shocked) Doctor crazy? Rose actually found herself entertaining the notion for a brief moment and inwardly giggled at the gob-smacked expression that she could imagine him wearing. _Sure, yeah,_ She thought. _I'll just go upstairs and throw on the most revealing thing I own, saunter out there, hop right up on the workbench and say, "I'm feeling poorly. I think I need a Doctor." _And, knowing him, he'd then whip out a stethoscope, stick a thermometer in her mouth, and run his sonic over her while muttering about her needing to put a coat on.

No, no. She wasn't going to do all that. Taking things slow, she decided, was the best course of action. She did decide to go check on him, though. Maybe take him a cup of tea. It was almost midnight and Pete and Jackie had gone to bed long ago. What could he still be doing out there? And, really, would she even want to know?

The sight that Rose was greeted with when she walked through the door of the workshop sent her straight back to the TARDIS. She set the tea mugs down on a little table and shook her head at what she saw. Lights were blinking, things were buzzing and whirling, there was a faint burning smell… And there he was. He was standing on his left leg with his right one out-stretched and his foot on the lever of some device while he held about seven wires in one hand and his sonic screwdriver in the other.

His eyes lit up when he saw her. "Rose!" the Doctor called out above the cacophony. "You'll never guess what I've been doing!" But before he could enlighten her, something small but fast came hurtling towards her head. He dropped everything and ran at her, pulling her down to the ground as the flying thing crashed into the wall above them. "Sorry, so sorry," he said, getting up and brushing himself off. "Meant to fix that…or turn it off, at least."

"My dad is mad to let you out here unsupervised," she teased, poking her tongue through her teeth as she smiled at him.

"Oh, I don't know about that," he said, going over to inspect the crushed piece of metal that had been the flying thing. "I've gotten about five or six pieces of equipment working since I've been out here." He threw the piece of metal in a heap of other parts by the workbench.

"And all of those?" she asked, tentatively going over to look at the pile.

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah…well…can't win them all. Still, it's more than Torchwood has been able to do with all this junk." Suddenly, he turned on his heel and dashed back over to the workbench. "I think I just about have it." Taking his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor put his foot back on the lever and started twisting the wires together, holding them against the sonic. Sparks flew from the ends of the wires and the sonic screwdriver buzzed loudly, causing Rose to cover her ears. The Doctor just grimaced and then threw the wires to the floor, shaking his hand as if he had burned it. "Aha!" he yelled. "And there we go!"

Rose grinned. "So you've got the sonic workin' again, have you?" she asked.

The Doctor spun to look at her, his face was alight with uncontained triumph. "Oh yes," he said proudly. Then, he started pointing the sonic screwdriver at things. He held it like a gun, firing it at different mechanisms, turning them off and on and off again. Rose fell into a fit of laughter over this.

After waiting for him to stop showing off, she said, "Now, Mr. Genius, dontcha think it's almost time for bed? You promised Tony that we'd take him to Avalon tomorrow."

"Yes, yes. We'll do all that shortly. But, first, come look at this if you think I'm a genius. And, well…" he straightened his tie, "I am. But this…this makes me brilliant. Absolutely brilliant!" He ran over and grabbed her hand, dragging her to the corner of the workshop where a fish tank was glowing, bathing that part of the room in bright orange light. There were cables running into it from all directions and it was emitting a slight humming, similar to his sonic screwdriver but at a lower frequency. The Doctor shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels, grinning broadly and waiting for her to ask the inevitable question.

She humored him. "So what's this then?"

"A tank," he said simply.

"I can see that, Doctor. What's it for?"

"Well, Rose Tyler, if I'm very, very brilliant and very, very careful…and you're very, very good…" he said, pointing a finger in her face. "We'll have a TARDIS in almost no time at all. I'm creating just the right atmosphere for her to grow in. With the advice that Donna gave me, we'll be flying off in under a year if this all goes according to plan."

"Under a year?" Rose gasped, unable to believe what she was hearing.

"Yep," he said, still smiling as wide as he could.

Rose, unable to contain her enthusiasm, threw her arms around him in a hug. He lifted her off the ground, and spun her around a couple of times, both of them laughing.

"Oh, Doctor I could…" then she stopped, eyes widening at what she had almost said.

"What? Kiss me?" he asked, a smug expression crossing his face as he raised one eyebrow. Rose felt her face turn as red as a beet. "Nah," he said, letting go of her waist and darting back over to the workbench. He leaned on his arm over a mechanism, using the other hand to spin some sort of wheel. "You can hold that thought until I've got her fully operational." Then, still bent over the bench, he raised his head to look at her. His eyes started scrutinizing her expression, which Rose knew was probably still thoroughly alarmed.

Finding her mouth still agape in shock, she shut it and heard her teeth click together. _Smooth, _she thought. Rose knew what the Doctor was doing. He gave her a way out. Let her save face by making it a joke. He was always able to just…get her.

"Then I'll have to pry you off of me with a crowbar, won't I?" he asked, chuckling. _Well, maybe not always._

She rolled her eyes, knowing the only way out of this one was to give it right back to him. _That's_ what he was doing. That's what he was expecting her to do; just like they always did before. "You get this TARDIS grown, mister, and maybe you'll get something better than a kiss," she said offhandedly, going over to inspect the tank closer. Rose heard the sound of scraping metal and shot a glance in his direction. She was pleased to find that his hand seemed to have slipped on the wheel, popping it right off whatever device it had been on. He hadn't even made an attempt to catch it and was still staring at her, but now with _his_ mouth hanging open.

"I…uh…well…" he stammered, darting his eyes around the room and tugging at his ear. She noted that he was definitely human now, as his ears had turned a shade of scarlet that she had never seen before.

"Maybe I'll let you try to find a whole planet that grows bananas," she amended. "Or…maybe we'll nip back in time and you can meet Charles Dickens again. Maybe I won't even go wanderin' off."

"You'd do that for me?" he asked, his expression finally returning to normal. "Well, then I'll get started tonight. If you promise not to wander off, that is. I do hate it when they do that."

"I know," she said, walking over to pat him on the shoulder. "But I think you're done for tonight. Better get some sleep if you're goin' to keep up with Tony in the bouncy castle."

"The bouncy castle!" he shouted. "That's right. Almost forgot about that what with you going on about…" he trailed off again, almost gulping.

"What?" Rose asked, walking towards the door. "Kissing?"

"Rose," he said, his voice becoming thick and serious.

"Hmm?" she asked, turning around.

"Duck," he said with a sly smile. She hit the floor just in time for another metal thing to go crashing into the wall. The Doctor pointed his sonic screwdriver at a large contraption at the other side of the room and the red, blinking lights on it faded. He stuck the screwdriver back in his jacket as Rose got up off the floor for the second time that night. "There we go," he said. "Now that's taken care of, it's off to bed. Allons-y."


	5. Chapter 5

The next day, Rose, the Doctor, and an overly excited three year old borrowed a car and made it to Avalon with plenty of the day ahead of them. After paying for the tickets, shoving Tony's shoes into a little compartment, and giving him a lecture on playing nicely, Rose sent him on his merry way. Tony was in much higher spirits after just getting to the parking deck and Rose made a mental note to spend more time with him now that she wasn't so involved with Torchwood and the dimension cannon. She was getting more and more grateful to the Time Lord Doctor for what he did for her. Now, not only did she have the Doctor (and she was starting to feel more and more like he was the Doctor –especially after seeing him run around the workshop last night in a frenzy) but she got to keep her family as well. The Doctor (her human Doctor) had his hands shoved into the pockets of a new gray, pinstriped suit as he padded around on the rubber floor in his socks, staring up at all the bridges, ropes, and plastic play-sets.

"Blimey," he said in awe. "What you people will do with helium. Boggles the mind." He waved his index finger in front of his face in a circle. "See this… properly boggled."

"You've met tree people and battled giant spiders, but this you can't believe?" Rose asked sarcastically.

"Oh, there's the bouncy castle!" the Doctor said excitedly. "We'd better get a move on. Tony's already inside. M'lady," he said, offering her his arm.

Rose giggled and took his arm. He pulled her across the huge building so fast that she could barely keep up. The Doctor stopped dead right outside the entrance to the castle, coming face to face with a man in a giant cartoon dragon costume. He made a look that was a mixture of horror and confusion. "You alright in there?" he shouted at the man, stalking around the poor bloke and surveying the costume.

"I am Emery Ember, the fiercest dragon in all of Avalon!" the man inside the costume said, obviously well rehearsed.

"Well, Mr. Ember, so sorry to bother you, but have you seen a tiny human child, about this big, blonde hair, screaming his little head off?" the Doctor asked with his most serious, down-to-business face.

The dragon head looked around the room at all the tiny human children screaming and then looked back at the Doctor silently.

"Right, well…then I guess we'll be on our way. I'm sure we'll find him," the Doctor said, pulling a still giggling Rose inside the helium filled monstrosity.

They did eventually find Tony, bouncing to his heart's content inside the plastic stone walls. It seemed like hours to Rose as they jumped about. She couldn't stop watching the Doctor roll around with the children, clad in a suit, smiling ear to ear. It was just too adorable.

"C'mon, you," she said when she had enough jostling, feeling a wee bit light-headed. "The grown-ups should go have a sit down, I reckon. And I think that means you too," she said to the Doctor.

"Only technically," he teased, following her out of the entrance.

Rose doubled over with laughter at the sight of the Doctor when they finally broke free and had their feet on ground that didn't move. His suit was wrinkled and clung awkwardly with static. The blue tie that he had put on this morning was askew and coming undone. But the best part was his hair. That fantastic hair was flattened to his face in front, falling almost in his eyes, while the back of it was standing straight out on end in all different directions.

"What? Why are you laughing at me?" he asked, taken aback.

"You're a mess!" Rose exclaimed between breaths, still unable to look at him.

He shrugged his shoulders and tried to push his hair down. "Well, you're not the picture of neatness yourself, Miss Tyler," he said as he scrubbed his hands over his face.

Rose fixed her jacket and straightened out her jumper. The Doctor held his hand over her head and she could feel strands of her hair moving. He smiled down at her. "We're a sight," he said.

"Aren't we always?" Rose asked, grinning back at him. "Defenders of the Earth, indeed. Don't we just look the part?"

"Right now, I believe that we're just the Defenders of the Helium Kingdom," the Doctor said. "And I can jump higher than any of them. I think that makes me their king."

"They're children," Rose laughed. "Of course you can jump higher!"

"No excuses," the Doctor said, still adjusting his suit.

"C'mon then, your majesty," Rose said, pulling him this time. "They have a food court here. Let's get some chips, yeah?"

"As my lady wishes," he said formally, offering her his arm again. She shook her head in response.

While waiting in line behind other tired, out of sorts adults, they were right in the middle of debating whether or not to get milkshakes as well when they were greeted by a very handsome young man in a navy blue (obviously designer) suit. He had pale blonde hair that was meticulously styled and told them that he was not one for bouncy castles. His eyes were large and a deep green that reminded Rose of summer grass. He wasn't just handsome, he was ethereal. Both Rose and the Doctor were startled when he interjected into their conversation.

"The milkshakes here are wonderful," he said smoothly. "I highly recommend them. I'm Meilyr. My family owns Avalon," he said as he shook their hands. Rose noticed the way the Doctor's jaw clenched when Meilyr's hand lingered on Rose's a little too long for comfort. "I sincerely hope that you are enjoying yourselves."

"Oh yes," the Doctor said, stepping ever so slightly in front of Rose. "Lots of primary colors, people dressed like dragons and knights, helium filled plastic…what's not to enjoy?"

"Good!" Meilyr said, smiling a perfect smile and showing off perfectly white teeth. "And what might your names be?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Rose," the Doctor said.

"Ah, what a fitting name for one who looks so much like a princess," the young man said, ignoring the Doctor entirely.

"Right…" the Doctor said, jutting out his chin. Rose would have been amused by his jealousy, but there was something so strange about Meilyr. "Well, we'll be sure to try the milkshakes, then. Since they come so highly recommended and all. But we should order…" the Doctor jerked his thumb in the direction of the cashier who was patiently waiting.

"Yes, you should. Arwen…" he said, addressing the cashier and winking, "give them two milkshakes, on the house."

"Yes, sir," the boy said.

"Oh, there's actually three of us," Rose corrected. "I'll need three milkshakes. But you don't have to give them to us for free."

"Nonsense," Meilyr said, still smiling. "We believe that full customers are satisfied customers. And the shakes are too good not to try, truly. Where is the third in your party?"

Rose could feel the Doctor's hand tightening on her waist, but she was trying to get through the exchange quickly and politely. "Oh, that little boy over there… the blonde one wearing the green shirt," she said, pointing to Tony who was play fighting with another child with blow up swords.

"He was here yesterday," Meilyr observed. "That settles it then, three milkshakes. I like loyal customers. Hopefully, you'll come back and see us again." Before he walked away, he turned back and said, "Your son is quite the little knight. I remember being impressed with him."

"He's not our son," Rose said, as the Doctor cleared his throat next to her. "That's my little brother."

"Ah," the young man said. "Should have known. You're far too young and delicate to have a child." Rose gave him a polite, but wary smile. "Anyway, thank you for coming to Avalon. Enjoy your stay in our kingdom."

"We will," the Doctor said, pulling Rose along to the counter, and away from Meilyr.

After they had their chips and ice cream, the Doctor and Rose sat at a round, plastic table and waited for Tony to be done playing. The Doctor wasn't eating. He was quietly scanning the room with that look that he had; the look that told Rose that he was far older than he appeared to be.

She popped a chip in her mouth and kept shooting him glances as the silence between them started to boarder on awkward. "So..." she said, tugging at his sleeve, "Meilyr seemed like a nice enough bloke. They must really care about their service here."

"Yep," he said, obviously not paying attention.

"C'mon, don't get all Time Lord on me. Let's just enjoy our day, alright? He was just a little too flirty. Nothing that I can't handle."

"Rose," the Doctor said, finally reaching for a chip. "Do you notice anything strange about this place?"

"Other than the people dressed like cartoon dragons?" she asked, teasing.

"Look at all the children," he said, pointing. "Well, not _all_ the children, but most of the children."

"They look like they're running and screaming and being kids, Doctor. Why? What's up?"

"No, really look. Do you notice anything physically that most of them have in common?"

Rose looked around the room. She looked with the eyes that had traveled with the Doctor for two years. She looked with her instinct…that gut feeling that had drawn him to her in the first place; the one that he had taught her to trust. And she did notice something.

"They're all…attractive," she blurted out. "They're all beautiful…very beautiful children."

"Exactly," the Doctor said, waving a chip in her face. "And, I know, we hear that _all_ children are beautiful. But these children just seem…"

"Exceptionally adorable?" Rose asked.

"Yes, quite."

"It is an expensive place, Doctor. I mean, statistically speaking, wealthy people tend to care more about how their children look."

"Hmm," the Doctor said, again not paying attention.

"Doctor," Rose said, her voice full of caution. "We were having a lovely day…_together_."

_That_ broke him out of his haze. He abruptly turned towards her, "Right, yes. We were. Sorry, Rose. Old habits. Thick head and all; it's hard to turn off."

"That's alright," she said, smiling at him and reaching for his hand.

Before her hand touched his, he leaned forward on the table and pointed at the food court. "But, look. Not just Meilyr, but the cashier…what was his name? Alan? Ashton?" He slammed his hand down on the table, making Rose jump. "Arwen, that's it. Did you notice that he was…" The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck.

"Pretty? For a bloke, anyway?" Rose asked, giving in.

"Right. And the girl who took our money for the tickets up front was also attractive."

Rose almost bristled at that, but caught herself. "Oh," she said, "you thought so?"

"One pretty girl is one pretty girl, Rose. But every single person working here is attractive. There's not one split end, crooked tooth, or wrinkle to be seen. Don't you find that strange?"

"Meilyr said that his family owns the place. Maybe they're all related?" Rose offered.

"Hmmm, maybe," The Doctor said, eating another chip and mulling this over.

Before Rose could chastise him again, Tony came running over. "I won the sword fight!" he yelled, brandishing the neon yellow toy.

"Oh, good for you!" Rose exclaimed. "Now sit down here and have some chips. We got you a vanilla milkshake."

"Didya see, Doctor?" Tony asked the distracted man next to him. "I won the sword fight, just like you."

"You told him about that?" the Doctor asked Rose.

"Of course I did. It was too good not to tell," she said, bumping his shoulder with hers.

"But I didn't get my hand cut off," Tony said, studying the Doctor's hand with wary eyes.

"It's all better now, Tony," the Doctor said, wagging his fingers at him.

"I reckon it's a good thing that _you_ did," Rose said softly so that only the Doctor could hear.

He turned to face her with a jolt and opened his mouth to say something. It looked like he thought better about it and snapped his jaw shut. His eyes burned into Rose's with a storm of emotion. After taking a breath, he said, "I couldn't agree more."

Tony took off again after he had finished his chips and ice cream. Rose and the Doctor sat quietly again. She was chewing her nails. He was surveying the crowd, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. She knew he needed something to keep him occupied, but this was getting ridiculous.

"You know, for wanting to spend the day with me, you're doing an awful lot of paying attention to other people," she said without any hint of teasing in her voice.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said, sighing and relaxing his posture. "I don't have a lot of experience with this," he said, motioning back and forth between them. "It's a little new still."

"And what is 'this'?" she asked, repeating his motion.

"Well, you know," he bristled, and looked away from her, clearing his throat.

She wasn't going to be the one to bring it up. _It has to be him_, she thought. _I told him that I loved him on that beach and all he said was "Quite right, too." And then I'm the one who kissed him on that same beach. He needs to give me something. I'm not going to be the one to take the first step to be embarrassed when he shoots me down. He can at least bloody well give me a hint._

"No, Doctor," she said, standing up to throw their trash away. "I still don't know what you mean. You might want to fill me in when you're not busy."

"Rose," the Doctor whined after her. But he didn't get up. She knew that he would let her have her space. He was never very good with her when she got upset.

Rose finished off the last of her strawberry milkshake and dropped it in the rubbish bin. At least Meilyr was right; the milkshakes were amazing.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor chatted with Tony on the ride home. Rose still wasn't speaking very much to him. He didn't blame her, he just was at a loss as to what to do about it. He had been telling the truth when he told her that he wasn't good with these things. He had been trying to follow her lead on the situation. She hadn't pressed the matter, so neither did he. Things would come in time, he had been telling himself. As a matter of fact, he was almost wondering if the kiss on Bad Wolf Bay had been too premature. Again, he had been following her lead…but perhaps she regretted it now. He felt that it was a little unfair for him to let her kiss him after he told her…what he had told her_. Of course_ she had been overcome with emotion. He almost felt as if he had taken advantage of her, of the situation. It had distracted her so that she would stay with him and not leave in the TARDIS, didn't it? Anyway, he couldn't help that now. The best that he could do was to give her space when she wanted space and take things one day at a time. She was still adjusting.

Well, so was he, in fact. Being human was not all that it was cracked up to be. He had been human before, of course. So he was fairly comfortable with the changes, for the most part. But before, he couldn't remember being a Time Lord. Now that he could, there were things that he missed. The Doctor missed his cardiovascular and respiratory bypass system. It was much more efficient. He felt older…he tired more easily. His senses were dulled, of course and he wasn't surprised by this. It happened before when he was human. Nothing he couldn't live without, really.

However, he noticed right off that he couldn't sense anything in this universe. He still had all of the knowledge from the other one, but here he didn't know timelines – couldn't pick up on them. He should have expected this. It had happened the first time that they had crossed over to Pete's World. But that time, he knew that he wouldn't have to live with it for long. This was different. He would never feel that again. All that was and all that ever could be…it wasn't a constant, nagging presence in his mind anymore. At first, this made him feel limited and handicapped. But he was starting to get used to it. In fact, truth be told, it seemed like a weight lifted off of his shoulders. Not that he would ever admit that out loud, of course.

But his mind...ah, his mind was still fully operational. He was delighted to find that he was still telepathic. Although, now he couldn't control the mechanics of his body. This seemed strange to him, like he wasn't in control of himself.

There were other things as well. He still had weird, little ticks from Donna. Not like he did from his Time Lord counter-part. He didn't have her personality, really. It was more like when you have been around someone for a long time and you start to say things that they say, pick up on their habits, etc. When the meta-crisis happened, he was able to see inside her head, briefly. It was a slight telepathic link. This had broken the second that she had used regeneration energy and took his knowledge into her mind. He knew how that was going to end for her, and he tried not to think about it. The other Doctor would take care of her, but he knew that he would have to wipe her mind. It wasn't pleasant knowledge and it weighed heavily on him.

That was another thing. His emotions were scattered. Not so much so that he couldn't get a reign on them, but they felt like they pulled him down. The slightest thing could make him feel completely different. This was the most difficult part, he thought. And how did human cope with these hormones? Up and down, all day long; it was exhausting. For one, he wasn't enjoying feeling like an emotional teenage human when Rose was around. He was abnormally aware of the chemical spikes he experienced when she looked at him, touched him, or was upset with him…like she was now. He kept going back to the insane amount of guilt that he felt over kissing her on Bad Wolf Bay. Really, he ought to have known better. He was caught completely off guard by that kiss and now it just kept replaying in his mind. She had looked at him with such an odd expression after he had whispered in her ear. Shock, he had decided later, it had been shock. Then she had grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him down to her with a determination that he hadn't expected. He really had only had a split second to realize what was happening before their lips met automatically. In that moment, he knew he had to make a choice and he had faltered briefly, trying to decide whether or not he should allow it to continue, what the right thing to do was. To his credit, he had tried to hold back; he tried not to let the emotions that were coursing through him to cause a lapse in his reasoning and judgment. He was better than that, after all. At first, when she kissed him, he immediately closed his eyes and sank into it, allowing all the tension that he was feeling to leave. But then he caught himself; he had believed that he could at least keep his composure as he had balled his fists at his sides and dug his nails into the palms of his hands, fighting with inner turmoil. However…that hadn't lasted very long before he simply thought, _Oh bloody hell_, and gave in, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her body to his. With the way that she had kissed him, how could a man resist? Now, looking back, he thought that it was jumping the gun. But at the time, it had felt long overdue. In all actuality, even though he still didn't feel like it was the proper timing, he probably wouldn't take it back if he could.

And he missed the TARDIS something awful. He knew that he'd get them up there among the stars as soon as his little tank and piece of coral would allow; but he also knew that Rose would be happier if they were on the run also.

She seemed angry with him now. It was rare that she was actually angry with him. Annoyed? Sure. Frustrated? You bet. Irritated? Eh…sometimes. But never outright angry. It was bothering him horribly.

When they got back to the house, Tony raced inside to show his parents his toy sword and the Doctor asked Rose if she was feeling alright before they got out of the car.

"I'm good. Just tired," she said. "Can you believe we spent the whole day there? No wonder I feel like I got hit by a bus."

"Yeah, yeah. Me too," he said, sliding out after she did and walking in the door.

"Mummy, mummy!" Tony was yelling at Jackie in the kitchen. "I got a sword and the Doctor came in the bouncy castle with me!"

"I can see that," Jackie said, laughing at the state of the Doctor's hair (which he had never been able to set back right).

"Can we go again tomorrow?" Tony asked Rose, spinning in a circle and whacking the dining chair with his sword.

"Now, Tony," Jackie said sternly, "your sister and the Doctor were very nice to take you today. But three days in a row is too much. You need to rest and the grown-ups need to get grown-up things done. We will go back, just not tomorrow."

The Doctor noticed the tears building in Tony's eyes and braced himself for an assault on his ears before Rose piped up, "Oh, we can take him back tomorrow. It's no big deal."

Jackie shot her daughter a narrowed eyed glare and the Doctor cocked his head in confusion.

"I thought you hated it there?" the Doctor asked, looking sideways at Rose.

"It's not so bad," Rose said, shrugging. "They do have great milkshakes. I'd be fine with takin' him again tomorrow. You wanna come along again?"

"I suppose so," he said. What was wrong with her? Why did she want to go back? Was she trying to avoid being alone with him? He decided that must be it.

"Yay!" Tony yelled, running around the kitchen.

"Alright, then," Jackie said. "Tony, go wash up for dinner. That's it, right in the bathroom. I'll be there in second." Jackie ushered the child into the hallway and then turned to Rose. "Well, I do hope that you're serious about takin' him. He won't let you forget it now. Next time, listen to me. He's goin' to be sick if he keeps it up and he'll keep expectin' us to take him every day." She sighed and followed Tony out.

"I'm goin' to skip dinner," Rose said, throwing her jacket over the chair. "I'm knackered. See you tomorrow, then?"

Before she could leave the room, the Doctor caught her hand and held her there, studying her face. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?" he asked sincerely.

"Yeah. I'm good, Doctor. Why?"

"If this is about what happened at Avalon…between us," he said, holding his tongue to the roof of his mouth and watching her expression.

She sighed, "It's not. I'm just tired, honestly."

He didn't let go of her hand. "Is this about what happened on Bad Wolf Bay?" he asked, treading carefully. "Is this about what I said?"

Rose's face softened. "No. Just tired, is all."

"Because if you want to talk about it, I will…I just…"

"No, Doctor. I. Just. Want. To Go. To Bed," Rose said, running her thumb over the Doctor's knuckles reassuringly.

He dropped her hand. "Alright. I'll be in the workshop, if you need me."

She smiled, but didn't say anything else and walked out of the room and up the stairs. The Doctor stared after her, kicking himself for not bringing it up sooner.

"What did you muck up now?" he heard Jackie Tyler say from his left side.

He sighed and ran his hand down from the top of his head to his chin. "G'night, Jackie," he said and made his way to the workshop.


	7. Chapter 7

Before Rose knew it, they were walking back into Avalon. It was strange, though. Why had she wanted to come back today? It wasn't as if there weren't thousands of other things that they could go do. She had told herself last night that she had wanted to spend some more time with Tony since she felt guilty over being so busy lately. But the agreement to come had just popped out of her mouth before she could think about it. She had been so very tired. _That was it_, she decided. It must have been because she was exhausted and couldn't think straight. However, last night she did dream about coming here…

_It was just from being so tired and the uncomfortable-ness with the Doctor_, she told herself. The minute that they walked through the doors and Tony was off on his way to play, she felt much better. The Doctor, on the other hand, hadn't said much since last night. He nodded and spoke when he needed to, but otherwise he just scrutinized her and acted as if she would explode at a moment's notice if he said the wrong thing. _I was too hard on him yesterday_, she thought. _It wasn't fair of me to put everything on him and expect….expect what?_ She didn't know, honestly. They were taking things slow and she had already decided that it was for the best. _Poor man,_ she thought as she saw him sitting on a bench, hands folded in his lap. _He didn't even want to come back today, he just wants to spend time with me. We'll leave early and maybe the two of us can catch a film._

"You aren't going to try your hand at the arcade?" she asked him, taking a seat.

"Nah," he said. He didn't smile. He hadn't smiled all morning, she noted.

"Doctor," Rose said, angling herself towards him. "I'm sorry about yesterday, alright? I didn't mean to upset you and act…like that. It was stupid. You're right, this is new. We're both bad at it."

He looked at her with somber eyes and went to say something, but was interrupted by a woman in a crisp, white suit jacket over a flowing, peach dress. The first thing that Rose noticed about her was that she was _also_ incredibly attractive. Her hair was the same pale blond as Meilyr's, but it curled delicately around her shoulders. She even had the same strange eyes, only hers were a pale brown.

"I don't mean to intrude on a private conversation," she said with a voice that flowed like honey over every syllable. "I just wanted to greet you and welcome you to the kingdom. My name is Talaith. I believe that you met my son, Meilyr, yesterday. He said that you had become very loyal customers. I'm so pleased to see that you've come back. Your brother must be very active."

"Yeah," Rose said quickly, noticing the Doctor's annoyance at the interruption. "He has lots of fun here, thanks."

"I'll get straight to the point and leave you," she said, handing them some bits of paper. "Here are some coupons for things at the food court. I give them out to all our most regular customers, just to let you know that we appreciate your patronage."

"Thanks," Rose said, folding them and shoving the paper into her pocket. "Really. We'll use them today."

"Good," Talaith said, flipping her hair behind her. "We hope that you'll come again." With those parting words, she sashayed off, leaving the scent of lilacs in her wake.

"Now, Doctor, you were going to say?" Rose asked, turning back to him.

But she had lost him again. He watched Talaith walk away with narrowed eyes. "Rose, can I see those coupon things?"

She sighed and handed them to him. "What is it now?" she asked, watching him reach for glasses in his jacket that were no longer there. She made a mental note to get him some new ones.

He read the coupon just fine without them, however. "She's handing them out to everyone," he said, squinting in annoyance.

"Probably some promotional thing. They just opened not too long ago," Rose tried to explain, feeling aggravated.

"Hmm," he said, still reading them.

"Doctor…as you were saying?" she prodded gently.

"Right," he almost yelled. "Rose, how do you feel about coming back here tomorrow?"

"Sure. Fine by me. But we weren't talking about that…" she stopped mid-sentence. She didn't want to come back here tomorrow, did she? "Why did I say that?"

"Say what?" the Doctor asked, lifting his chin and staring down at her cautiously.

"Why did I agree to come back here tomorrow? Doctor, I don't want to come back here tomorrow… so why did I say that I did?" her breathing was getting staggered. Rose licked her suddenly dry lips and looked at him questioningly.

"I don't know," he admitted, his voice low in concern. "Why did you want to come back here today?"

"I thought it was because I wanted to spend time with Tony. I…I just agreed before I could think proper." Rose paused and thought about the events for a moment. "Doctor," she said, also keeping her voice down. "I dreamt about this place last night."

"What sort of dreams?" he asked as his eyes darted about the room.

"Just…dreams. We were here. That was all."

"Rose," he said standing up from the bench, "I don't understand it, but we'll figure it out."

She stood up next to him. "Tony's been throwing fits wanting to come back here every day. I mean, I know that he's three and wants to play…but Mum said that he doesn't even want to go to the park or take a walk. Doctor, all he wants to do is come back here…every day."

"I know," he said, telling her that he had suspected something had been wrong for a long time now. She kicked herself for not listening to him yesterday and then distracting him.

"So, I want to come here…and so does Tony," she started to work out. "Do you?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"No," the Doctor said simply.

"Why is it affecting me and Tony, but not you?" she asked, wondering if it had something to do with his alien-ness.

"I don't think they want _me_," he said slowly, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"They?" she asked. "You mean Meilyr and Talaith, yeah? Why would they want me and Tony?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I really don't know, Rose. This is a whole new universe. There could be races from other planets that I know absolutely, positively nothing about. What good am I without that?" he said harshly, his lips pulled back from his teeth in what resembled a snarl.

"You don't think they're from here?" Rose asked. "You don't think they're human?"

The Doctor only shook his head in response.

"Hey, you still have a Time Lord brain, yeah? Said so yourself. You'll think of something. Always do," she said, putting her hand on his arm.

"I need more information," he said, gritting his teeth.

Rose pondered for a moment. "I think I know how we'll get it," she said. "I see Meilyr over there. He liked me, yeah? I'll go see what I can get out of him. You go talk to his mum. Reckon they'll let something slip."

"I'd rather you not," the Doctor said, glaring at Meilyr.

"Doctor, I told you, he's nothing that I can't handle. Besides, his charms won't work on me. I'm immune."

"Are you?" he asked her, smirking.

"He's not my type."

The Doctor inhaled sharply and raised his eyebrow as he asked her, "What is your type?"

"Oh, tall, dark, handsome, brilliant…maybe a little foreign," Rose said, grinning at him.

He was doing a very poor job of trying not to smile back at her. "How foreign?"

"Light years," she teased, elbowing him in the arm. "Do you know anyone like that?"

He rolled his eyes and then started smiling outright, "Jack…" he said.

"How about in _this_ universe?" she asked, laughing.

"Oh, I don't know, there could be another Captain Jack Harkness scampering about out there somewhere," the Doctor mused. "Once we get the TARDIS functioning, we could look him up. See if he wants to go for some chips."

"With you or with me?" Rose asked, still giggling.

"Ah," he said, sniffing. "Right…better not then."

"Alright, off we go," Rose said, setting off to talk to Meilyr. "Remember," she said, turning back around, "be charming."

The Doctor straightened his tie. "I'm always charming," he said as he sauntered away; obviously having his self-esteem boosted by Rose's teasing.


	8. Chapter 8

Talaith was still passing out coupons to other customers. The Doctor rounded a large, blow up tower and cut off her path. He smiled and bounced on the balls of his feet. "So… what made you decide to get into the bouncy castle business?" he asked her. "Doesn't seem very…lucrative."

"Then you don't have children," Talaith said, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Well…" he said, "say I don't. I still don't see you as the type to run a place with screaming, messy kids running all around. Could ruin your jacket. Looks like an expensive one, too."

"I didn't catch your name," she said, offering her hand.

"The Doctor," he said.

"Doctor who?" she asked.

"Just the Doctor. Like Prince," he rambled.

"Prince?"

"Oh, sorry. Do you not have Prince here? Well, not too much of a loss, I s'pose, depending on how you look at it."

"If you'll excuse me, Doctor, I have other customers," Talaith said, trying to be polite.

"I can see that," he said. "Loads of them. Come back every day, do they?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Same children," the Doctor said, inclining his head in the direction of the castle. "We've been here two days in a row now and it's always the same children."

"We have very loyal customers."

"Ah," he said, nodding. "But what makes them so loyal, I wonder?"

"I see your friend has taken a liking to my son," she said with a sly expression sliding like ink across her perfectly proportional face. "You'd better get over there before he runs off with her. Meilyr is very popular with pretty, young girls."

The Doctor glanced over to see Rose laughing and doing a great job feigning interest in whatever the man was saying to her. "Oh, I will in a tick. Just want to find out what the big fuss about Avalon is. Figured you'd be the person to talk to. The head honcho, as it were. The mother ship?"

Were his eyes playing trick on him or did he see the corners of her mouth move ever so slightly at that?

"Avalon is a kingdom of fun," she said. "That is what all the fuss is about. Now, if you'll excuse me."

The Doctor let her walk away for a little bit. He wanted to catch her off guard. Before she got too far, he ran forward, keeping pace with her and shoving his hands in his pockets. "Strange choice of name, I have to say. I get the reference, but why not Camelot? Wasn't Camelot King Arthur's kingdom? Avalon was where they took him when he died. Interesting connotations…" he mused.

"Camelot was full of deceit and treachery. Avalon was written to be a kingdom of peace," Talaith said as she continued to try to walk away from him.

"Ah, I see," he said.

"Doctor," she said as she whirled on him, "you seem tense. We do have a full spa available for parents and guardians right through those doors. Why don't you take advantage?"

"Oh, wouldn't want to take advantage," the Doctor said.

"I insist," she said as she walked through doors marked "Employees Only."

The Doctor would have followed. Words were just words. Doors were just doors. But two of the men in dragon suits went to stand in front of them. "Well, then," he said to the costumed men, "Good thing I forgot my sword and shield. I'll just be off. Gonna go find my friend."

_That did little good_, the Doctor thought pacing around the hallway between the restrooms. Attractive people who want attractive children…and Rose. But the Doctor thought he knew who specifically wanted Rose. But why would they want them to come play here every day. Money…for one. No, there was something more to it than that. Something more nefarious. They wanted to keep them here. They made them feel as though they had to come back. The children were addicted. Rose wanted to come back. But the Doctor didn't. What could she and Tony have been exposed to that he wasn't?

Then, it hit him like a ton of bricks. He smacked his head and pulled out the coupons. Food! That was it! It was the food!

"Oh, I'm thick sometimes!" he shouted. "Old and daft!"

He thought that he really should have seen that one earlier. But…he did have Rose to distract him. _Alright_, he thought, _so they're spiking the food with something that makes whomever eat it want to come back. Day after day…all they want to do is come here. Why? Oh, there could be so many reasons why! Let's focus on what they are…_

He paced around some more, mentally going over the alien races that he was familiar with. Just then, he stopped in front of medieval mural that was painted on the wall. The Doctor leaned close and studied the knights and princesses and dragons. There was something else painted there…or someone else. The realization slowly crept into his head and made his face fall. _Of course_, he thought. _What else? _He ran in his stocking feet back into the main play area to find Rose. If he was right, and he usually _was_ right, they were in big trouble, especially without a TARDIS. Things had been so much easier when he had a TARDIS.

"Rose!" he yelled as he skidded to a halt outside the food court. His face was in a hard grimace and he spun about, pulling at his hair as he searched for her.

"Doctor?" Rose asked from behind him. "Did you find anything out? All I figured out was that Meilyr likes candlelit dinners and cheesy pick up lines," she lamented.

"We have to get Tony," he said. "We're leaving – now!"

Rose didn't question him this time. She grabbed Tony and walked, very quickly, over to get their things. The Doctor ushered them out the door and hardly let out a breath until they were in the car.

"What is it, Doctor?" Rose asked, trying to hide the fright in her voice for Tony's sake.

He sat there, looking out the windows apprehensively. "I'll let you know once we get back to your parents' house. How do you feel?"

"I feel fine," Rose said.

"Did you eat anything there today?" the Doctor asked.

"No," she said, seeing where he was going with this.

"Did Tony?"

"Not that I know of."

"But he could have?"

"Yeah," she said, looking at the quiet child. "Tony, did you eat anything at Avalon today?" she asked sweetly.

"A man gave me a biscuit," Tony said happily.

The Doctor groaned. "What man?" Rose asked.

"The one with yellow hair, like me," Tony chirped.

"We're in for a long night," the Doctor said.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose pulled Tony inside the house as the Doctor kept watching behind them as if something were after them. He shut the door and locked it, turning on his heel towards Rose. "We have a big problem."

"Rose, can we go to Avalon again tomorrow?" Tony asked.

Before Rose could answer, the Doctor pulled her aside. "Tell him 'yes.' We'll deal with it tomorrow, but for tonight, let him think that we're going."

"But, Doctor…" Rose trailed off. "I don't think I can say 'no.' I…"

"You want to go back…" he said, sighing.

"I don't want to…exactly," she said. "I just feel pulled there. I'm so tired since we left and I haven't felt right since."

"Alright," he said, turning to face Tony. "We'll go back again tomorrow. How are you feeling, Tony?" The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the little boy, flipping it open and gazing at whatever it was that he gazed at on it.

"I'm tired," Tony complained.

"Oi," they all heard Jackie say as she came in from the sitting room. "Don't be using that alien thing on my son. What if it makes him grow a sixth toe?"

"It won't make him…" the Doctor scrubbed at his face with his hands, dragging his fingertips into his skin in frustration. "Everyone…into the kitchen." He made a swooping gesture with his arms, as if he were conducting them. "Wait, no!" He stopped them all. "Jackie…Tony is tired. It's best if he takes a nap."

"Alright, you daft alien," Jackie said, putting her hands on her hips.

"I know, I know…" he said, interrupting her. "Don't you be tellin' me how to raise my son," the Doctor said in his best impression of Rose's mum. Rose held back laughter. Jackie was less than impressed. "But, Jackie, we need to have a grown-up discussion now. Is Pete home?"

"Yeah," Jackie said, taking Tony's hand and leading him upstairs. "It's Saturday. He's in the study."

"Good, good," the Doctor said, walking at a brisk pace to retrieve Pete Tyler. "Rose, you can put the kettle on. We're gonna need it!"

Rose waited on everyone in the kitchen. She was frightened, actually. The Doctor was worked up. She hadn't seen him this worked up in a long time. He was always able to stare these things in the face with a cavalier attitude and a witty retort. What could Meilyr and his mother be that had the Doctor acting this way?

She was about to get her answer. The man in question came walking in, backwards, talking to Pete in a hushed tone. He paced around the kitchen so much that she was afraid that he would light a fire under his red trainers.

"What in the bloody 'ell is goin' on?" Jackie said as she took a chair at the kitchen table.

"Yeah," Pete said. "You've got us all worried sick, Doctor. What happened today at that play place?"

"Rose," the Doctor said, pointing a finger in her direction. "You take over this part. I need time to think. Mull things over. Let it ramble about in this melon of mine. Great big pot of thinking stew going on over here."

Rose sighed and told her mum and dad everything that she knew. She told them that there was something in the food at Avalon that made Tony and her want to go back all the time. She told them about Meilyr and his mother…. Talaith wanting the children there for some reason…and wanting her there (but, she was able to figure out that one on her own).

"And…" Rose finished to her stunned parents, "that's about where I'm at. Anything to add over there, Doctor?"

"Plenty," he said, pulling up a chair and sitting on it backwards. "Meilyr and Talaith are running an organization. A very…successful organization on the backs of stolen children. They're kind has been doing this for centuries here on Earth, or so I've heard. Actually, I've never met any of them until now. I was under the impression that they had all gone home. Apparently, they haven't in this universe."

"Where's home for them?" Rose asked.

"Well, if this universe is the same in that respect as the other one, then it would be the planet of Fayavenne, billions and billions of light years away from here. You see, the _Fata_ came here a long time ago and inhabited areas of England, Scotland, and Ireland; mostly the country side. There were all different forms of _Fata_, in fact. Some were helpful and some were…" he took a breath, "not so helpful. They are an old people…very powerful and very dangerous when crossed. I think this particular group plans on either taking the children back to Fayavenne with them or carrying them along as they travel, collecting more children."

"What do they want with the children?" Jackie asked with wide eyes and a sense of dread that only a mother can feel.

"They want to keep them," the Doctor explained. "They like the clever, the beautiful, the brave, the imaginative. They integrate them into their society so that they can repopulate themselves with those that they consider…special."

"And they slip something into the food to make us want to keep going back until we never want to leave…" Rose said; it wasn't a question.

"Yes, Rose. That's precisely what they do. It's one of the things that they're known for, actually. I can't believe I didn't see it before, especially considering the name of the place. Should have tipped me right off. I'm also surprised that you didn't catch what they are. Your world tells hundred of stories about them."

"We do?" she asked, searching her head for something that fit the Doctor's description.

"What kind of creature do you always hear about in stories that is more beautiful than any other and steals human children?" the Doctor asked them, furrowing his brow and waiting for them to catch up.

"Oh," Rose said, scrunching up her face. "You don't mean…Now that's bonkers!"

"They've went by a lot of names here, but you've probably heard Fay or…the more common name…"

"Fairies?" Rose asked, aghast.

"Yup," the Doctor said, raising his arms up and resting the back of his head against his palms.

"Fairies are trying to steal my children?" Jackie asked with a disgusted look on her face.

"Alright, Doctor, I won't say that I believe in fairies. But I will say that I believe that some alien is behind all of this," Pete said, rubbing his temples.

"Same thing, Pete," the Doctor said, tugging at his ear.

"How do we stop it?" Pete asked. "I'd send Torchwood in, but I want to know exactly what we're up against first."

"You can't send Torchwood in now," the Doctor explained. "It is business hours. There are dozens of children running around and I can't tell you what they would do if they were threatened. We need to approach this with caution. Avalon will need to be shut down and these fairies will need to be sent home, but we need to know what they've been putting in the food so that we can counter-act it."

"What are you suggesting?" Pete asked.

"I'll go back in – this afternoon. I'll figure out what they're adding to the food and once I have that information, after close, you can send your men in. Sound good?"

"Fine by me," Pete said. "But how are you going to go sneaking around in there without tipping them off?"

"I'll think of something – always do."

"We could wait until Meilyr and Talaith are busy and then tell the kitchen that we're health and safety," Rose suggested.

"Oh, no." the Doctor said, shaking his head at her. "You're not going anywhere near that place again, Rose Tyler. I won't have it."

"You won't…have it?" she almost yelled. And she would have, if Tony hadn't of been asleep upstairs.

The Doctor only threw her a defiant look in response that told her that he had made up his mind.

"I was your companion for two years. We did all sorts of dangerous stuff together. Things much more dangerous than this, thank you very much. You never had a problem dragging me along before," she argued.

"They've marked you, Rose. You've been chosen. If I take you back there, for whatever reason, that is playing right into their trap. The whole place is a trap. I'm not so dim as to just give them exactly what they want!" he said as loudly as he could without shouting.

Jackie and Pete were glancing from Rose to the Doctor without saying a word.

"So you're just going to go in there all alone?" she snipped.

"I can send you an operative from Torchwood," Pete offered. "I'll pick the best field agent I have, excluding Rose, of course. What else will you need?"

"Iron," the Doctor said, ignoring the angry look Rose was giving him. "They're allergic to it, can't touch it. Iron nails ought to do it."

"Nails?" Pete questioned.

"Small, compact, easy to hide in pockets. You'll also want to give Tony and Rose some."

"Do you think that they'll come here lookin' for 'em?" Jackie asked.

The Doctor took a sharp intake of breath. "Never know. Don't want to take any chances. They've been known to snatch human children from their beds. But, I suppose that it isn't as easy as it was back in the 1500's."

"I'm just gonna go check on Tony," Jackie said, nodding.

"So, Doctor," Pete asked, since Rose didn't seem to be any more help, "how are we going to send them home?"

The Doctor ran his hands through his hair. "Dunno, Pete. Haven't quite worked that one out yet. Doubt they'll leave quietly. They never do, do they?" he asked Rose, who was still glowering at him. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and loosened his tie. "Right, well, I have a feeling that if you've got the manpower and they're surrounded, they'll turn tail and run. Fairies are notorious for secrecy. If they know that they've been found out, they're more likely to skip the galaxy than fight."

"And we're basing this all on what you've read in stories…" Pete inferred.

"Well," the Doctor started to say with an exaggerated frown and a bob of his head when they all heard Jackie scream from upstairs. All three of them ran out of the room and headed towards her, the Doctor kicking his chair over and sending it skidding across the kitchen floor.

"Mum!" Rose yelled out, leading the way in front of Pete and the Doctor.

"He's gone!" Jackie wailed, throwing Tony's bed sheets all over the room. "All the doors and windows are locked and on an alarm! Where could he have gone?"

"Don't panic, Jacks," Pete said, going over to console her. "Like you said, everything is locked down tight. It's a big house. He might be hiding."

Rose and the Doctor ran off to search the house, calling out for Tony. Rose couldn't find him anywhere. She felt panic rising up in her chest and throat. Before she could scream herself hoarse, she ran straight into the Doctor, who caught her and gripped her around the waist before she could fall right down on her bum. He wasn't looking at her, though. He was looking out the open back door.

"Rose," he gulped, "I think there's been a change of plans."


	10. Chapter 10

They searched the garden. They searched the neighborhood. Pete called in all resources from Torchwood to scan the area for Tony. But Rose and the Doctor knew that they weren't going to find him wandering the streets or in the park.

"How could they have gotten in?" Pete asked the Doctor, grief turning his face a sickly shade of green.

"They didn't get in, Pete," the Doctor said. "Tony must have snuck out to them or to Avalon. But he couldn't have been gone long. If he had been trying to walk there, on his little legs, we would have found him by now. He had help. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. But now we have to go to Avalon. That's where he'll be." Then the Doctor paused and took a deep breath, "I just hope that he's still there."

"They'll know that you're coming," Rose said.

"No," the Doctor said, shaking his head, "they think that they've been quite sly. If she thought that I was clever enough to figure out what she is, then I'd be a prisoner or dead by now. They easily could have nabbed me while I was in that hallway with her. She considers me an annoyance; not a threat."

"Why didn't they come for me?" Rose asked him.

"They still might," he said. "But you're going to be a lot harder to steal than a three year old."

"And you reckon that we can't send Torchwood in yet?" Rose asked.

"Not with all those children in there. I'm sorry. But we need stealth to get him back without incurring their wrath now."

"Then I'm going with," Rose said, pulling on a jacket over her jumper. "No arguing."

"Rose," the Doctor warned, narrowing his eyes.

"I said 'no arguing.' I can't just sit at home when my little brother has been kidnapped, now can I? And let me ask you this, Mr. Clever, who would you rather have to back you up…me or someone you don't know from Torchwood?"

"You don't fight fair," the Doctor said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"When have I ever done what you told me to?" Rose asked, grabbing the keys.

The Doctor almost smiled, despite the situation. "S'pose you gotta point there."

After loading up their pockets with iron nails from the hardware store, the Doctor and Rose strolled right into Avalon as if it were just a normal, leisurely Saturday afternoon. They both had unusually large, fake grins plastered on their faces as they scanned the room and all the children, looking for Tony.

"He's not out here," Rose said quietly through her teeth, trying her best to keep her smile up.

"I didn't think he would be," the Doctor replied. "Do you see Meilyr or Talaith?"

Rose looked all around. They were usually easy to spot; that blonde hair stood out like a sore thumb.

"Nope," she said.

"Good," he said. "Makes my life a lot easier."

"So what's the plan, then?" she asked.

"Other than find Tony, rescue him, send the fairies packing…" the Doctor rubbed the back of his neck.

"What about what they are putting on the food?"

"Right," he said, sighing. "First, let's get Tony back. I know where the employee entrance is. We'll need to get in there. This would be a lot easier with psychic paper, you know…"

Rose glanced around and then her fake grin eased into a real one. "I think I have an idea…" she said as the Doctor followed her gaze and then smiled proudly at her.

"They really shouldn't leave these things hanging right inside the break room," the Doctor said as Rose helped him adjust his padded knight's helmet in the bathroom.

"Who would want to steal these horrible, smelly costumes?" Rose asked, making a face while she went over to retrieve her dragon head. "How do I look?"

"Terrifying," she heard the Doctor say in a muffled voice. Rose giggled.

They exited the bathroom and ran straight into an old man with curly white hair and a strange, knobbed cane.

"What are you two doing?" the old man asked them.

The Doctor in the knight's costume gave an exaggerated shrug.

"His Grace needs us all below to help with preparations. Well, then…get a move on."

Rose and the Doctor nodded their costumed heads and quickly hurried through the doors marked "Employees Only."

At first glance, the back room looked like an ordinary warehouse stock room. There was florescent lighting, boxes stacked on pallets, and empty cubicles. Rose saw the Doctor walk over to a computer and switch it on. He removed his padded gauntlets, pointed his sonic at the tower, and typed for a bit on the keyboard before coming back over to her.

"Find anything out?" she asked.

"Oh yes," the knight's helmet said, nodding.

"Gonna fill me in?"

"When we have the time," he said.

"Doctor…" Rose said, pointing her purple, felt covered claw at a light shining from behind a box against the wall.

Even though Rose couldn't see his face, she knew that he was looking mighty pleased just about now.

"Ah," he said, going over to move the pallet that the box was sitting on. "Brilliant! A secret door. Love a secret door." At that, he shoved the wall and the light in the room grew bigger and they were left staring into what looked like a cavern.

On and on they walked through the tunnel. Luckily, it was lit with glowing orbs that bobbed and weaved over their heads. Rose stuck her hand up to touch one and jumped in surprise when the Doctor caught her wrist.

"No," he said. "Just…no."

When she started to think that they were never going to reach anything, she saw something that made her gasp. There was a bridge made out of (what looked like) blue glass that led to a huge, moss covered stone structure. Rose had to crane her neck to look up to the top of it. There were numerous caverns all leading to other walkways, going up and up, winding to the top of the tower. The tower itself had so many doors on the sides. It reminded her of a beehive, jutting out from the dug-out earth.

The Doctor took off his costume helmet. His mouth was agape in shock. "It's a fairy mound. A fairy mound dug into the ground underneath a children's play place."

"What's a fairy mound?" Rose asked softly.

"It's their ship," he said, his voice deepening.


	11. Chapter 11

They ambled up a walkway to reach the tower. The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out of the sleeve of the costume and opened the door. The inside of the fairy mound was sparkling white, sterile, and cold.

"Really?" Rose asked, disappointment creeping into her voice.

"What?" the Doctor asked.

"I was expectin'…I dunno, a forest or a meadow or somethin'. Not a regular ol' spaceship."

Even though he knew Rose couldn't see it, the Doctor was smiling from ear to ear. _Some things never change_, he thought.

People…well, not people…fairies were bustling about, almost running into them. But soon, they were greeted by a familiar face.

"What are you doing in those ridiculous things?" Meilyr asked from behind them.

The Doctor and Rose spun. The Doctor almost had to jump over the tail of Rose's costume.

"Go take them off and get to work," Meilyr said angrily, pushing past them. Then he spun on his heel. "Actually, no. I have a room full of screaming brats in cell 505. Keep the costumes on and go see if you can't get them to shut up. My mother is going to be in to inspect them soon and if she gets a headache, then we're all in for it."

When Meilyr had strolled away, the Doctor turned to Rose. "I s'pose we know where the children are," he said.

They stopped a very flustered young fairy boy who was pushing a pallet full of tubs towards the door and asked him where cell 505 was. The lad looked confused, but was in too big of a hurry to question them and pointed to a hallway opposite them. The Doctor led Rose over to the entrance and then took a peek inside the door.

"We've hit a hitch," he said quietly.

"Whaddya mean?" she asked.

"There's dozens of children in there," he explained. "I wasn't expecting them to already have this many. I need you to go back upstairs, leave Avalon, and then get Torchwood to surround the perimeter."

"I'm not leavin' you," she protested, as he knew she would.

"Rose, I can't sneak that many children out without being noticed. Not without a TARDIS. We're going to have to go to Plan B."

"And what's Plan B?"

"I'm going to take the fairy queen hostage," the Doctor said, ducking into cell 505.


	12. Chapter 12

_Ugh_, Rose thought as she walked as inconspicuously as she could back through the cavern with the glowing orbs, _there he goes, sending me off again. How does he think he's going to do this by himself? And what about all the children and parents upstairs? What if Torchwood surrounds the place and they just take off, with the Doctor, with Tony and the other children? They could kill everyone upstairs if they come through the ground._

Once she came through the employee entrance, she headed into the bathroom, took off the dragon costume, and called Pete, letting him know what was going on and filling him in on the Doctor's plan.

"You have to get all those people in the play place out of there," Pete advised her. "You're right. If they try to run, they'll come right up from underneath them and slaughter them all."

"How am I gonna do that?" Rose asked.

"Think of something," he said. "Just get them out of there before we get there."

Rose hung up the phone and left the restroom. She hopelessly looked around at all of the people that filled the building around her. How was she ever going to get them all to leave?

She heard the Doctor's voice fill her head as if he were standing right next to her. _"Even fairies have to follow fire codes," _she knew he'd say.

Whistling and trying to be as nonchalant as possible, she edged towards the wall. When she was sure that no one was looking at her, she reached out and pulled the fire alarm. Water rained down on Avalon, soaking the bouncy castle and the colorful rubber mats. As the alarms sounded and drowned out the children yelling, parents scrambled to grab their kids and make their way towards the exits.

_That was almost too easy_, she thought, feeling quite proud of herself. That is, until she turned around and smacked into Meilyr's chest.

"I knew you'd look even more beautiful in the rain," he said with a wicked grin.


	13. Chapter 13

Talaith entered a room full of quiet, well behaved little children with two guards flanking her. She wasn't dressed in a suit jacket anymore. A cerulean blue gown swayed about her ankles and a long, white silk hood was draped over her hair, framing her eerily perfect face.

"Very good," she said to the Doctor in the knight's costume. "I wasn't expecting them to be so…calm. You've done well."

He nodded in reply and waited until she had walked to the center of the room. When she was a good, comfortable distance away from the door, he yelled out, "Now!" and removed his padded helmet. The children scrambled, knocking the Fairy Queen off of her feet. When the dust had settled and Talaith was able to gain her senses, the Doctor stood against the door, wearing only his TARDIS blue suit and blowing on the end of a nail gun.

Her two guards were struggling against the wall, trying to pull at the numerous nails that the Doctor had put into their clothing to keep them there. "Agg," one cried, "it burns!" The other one was too busy sneezing to say anything.

"Iron," she hissed, getting to her feet. "Help!"

"No use hollering like that," the Doctor said as pounding came from the other side of the door. "Unless they've got one of these," he explained, flipping the sonic screwdriver around in his hands, "they aren't getting in any time soon. Might as well get comfortable."

"Who are you?" she asked, adjusting her mussed hair and whipping her skirts back.

"I told you," he said with a smug smile, "I'm the Doctor. And I think I have a pretty good idea who you are."

"Do you?" she asked.

"The little people. Wee folk. _Fata_. Faie. Fay. Sidhe. Hobgoblins. Fairies," he said, pacing about in front of her.

"You have the pleasure of addressing the queen of the Unseelie Court," Talaith said.

"Oh, well then," he bowed mockingly, "terribly sorry to hold you up, your Majesty. But, you see, you have taken something that is quite precious and I'm not the sort of man to let that sort of thievery go."

"The children are ours now."

"Are they? Well, I don't think their parents see it that way."

"Now you have me, and the children, in a locked room with no way out. You'll never get past my knights. So what is your plan, Doctor?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" he asked, furrowing his brow in annoyance. "No one likes a Nosey Nancy. But I'm more interested in what your plan is."

Talaith eyed him suspiciously, but kept quiet.

"We're on your space ship with about half the children that you wanted to take and their queen has just been taken hostage," the Doctor said, jutting his thumb at the door. "So why haven't they taken off yet? Wouldn't it be better to deal with me when I have absolutely no means of escape?"

The Fairy Queen bristled and the Doctor knew that he had hit a nerve.

"Your safety is more important than a couple dozen more children. At least, it should be. No," he said, coming closer to look her right in the eyes. "I saw those panels on the ceiling of Avalon and I got a good look at a computer upstairs. You are creatures of natural, organic material. Your ship is solar powered and you don't have the energy to take off yet. That's why you were leaving tonight, specifically. You're waiting until this ship has enough energy. And it takes an enormous amount of energy to power a ship like this."

"So you have it all figured out then?" she asked with malice.

"Not quite," he admitted. "The part about the food is still bothering me."

She smiled in such a way that showed that she was thoroughly pleased with herself.

"I did a scan on the food earlier and what you've done is actually brilliant. You've been slipping soil from Fayavenne into it. Love of the land, indeed. Your soil is quite addictive. They even show symptoms of withdrawal when they aren't near it. So here you are, spiking their chips and milkshakes with soil to make them want to come back here because Avalon is built on top of a fairy mound that is made with the very same soil. It's creative, I'll give you that."

Talaith was no longer looking pleased. In fact, she was a boiling pot of rage at this point.

"So…" the Doctor said, getting to the point, "what counter acts it?"

"What makes you think that anything does?" she asked him defiantly.

"Oh, come on, there has to be something," he said.

"And what if I tell you that there isn't? If you do indeed try to escape with these children, then over time, they will grow sick and die without the constant presence of our sacred ground. And yes, Doctor, it will happen to your precious flower as well."

The Doctor bit his lip, holding back a response that he'd knew he would regret. Instead, he stalked towards her and held his face inches from hers. "Cure them," he said simply. "I know you can do it. There's some sort of antidote and, make no mistake, you will use it to cure them."

"And why would I do that?" she asked.

"Tell ya what," he said, "I'll make you a deal."

"Oh, Doctor," she sighed in exasperation, "making a deal with a fairy is not to be taken lightly. We are masters at verbal agreements."

"But you uphold them, yes?" he asked. "I did some research on your kind on the way over here and to break a deal is to break a sacred law, correct?"

"More than that," Talaith said. "It's our curse and our blessing. To break a deal is to commit a heinous sin and even I cannot escape punishment. Which is why we always make sure that we're getting the better end."

"You'll get the better end on this one."

"What are you proposing?"

"Take me instead. Let Rose and all of the human children go safely. Give them the antidote and let them live out the rest of their lives in peace. And you can leave and never come back. But you can take me."

"Why would we want you?" she asked, intrigued.

"Your species is somewhat telepathic, yes?"

"Yes, of course," she answered.

"Look inside my head," he said. "I may appear to be a regular old human, but I'm much than that, I promise you."

"I'm beginning to sense that," Talaith said, smiling. All of a sudden, the Doctor cringed and fell to his knees. He could vaguely hear Tony sobbing in the corner where all the children had gathered. She was like a spike being driven into the back of his skull. Someone else was crying out. Was that him?

When he had enough, he pushed out and blocked her access to his mind. The Doctor opened his eyes to find himself on the ground at her feet, gasping. Talaith stood over him, a vacant expression on her face.

"Human, but not human. From another world; another realm. All that knowledge just bottled up in that human body. Oh, this is special, indeed," she said, practically giddy.

"Do we have a deal?" the Doctor asked, getting to his feet on wobbly legs.

"The children can go if you stay," Talaith offered. "There is an extract from a tree on Fayavenne that we use as an antidote. If you'll allow me to open the door, then I'll have my knights retrieve it for you."

"What about the children upstairs that you haven't kidnapped yet?" he asked.

"Any child who has had enough soil to make them feel a loss is in here. Those children weren't ready yet. They don't need an antidote."

The Doctor nodded and used his sonic screwdriver to open the door. All sorts of men burst through, carrying a sort of gun that the Doctor had never seen before. Talaith calmed them all and explained that she needed the antidote right away, after relieving the Doctor of his nail gun, of course. They returned with little vials of a clear liquid and the Doctor oversaw as they gave a few drops to each child. When they had finished with that, Talaith took a biscuit from one of the men and handed it to the Doctor, reminding him to uphold his end of the deal. He bitterly grabbed it from her and ate it in one bite.

"They should be fine now," the fairy queen said.

"I'll need a vial for Rose," the Doctor said. "We can send it home with her brother."

"Ah, yes…there is that small matter," she said, motioning for the Doctor to follow her down the hallway. Not like he had a choice in the matter, with her knights surrounding him.

"What small matter?" he asked, concern growing in his voice.

"I promised you the children, not the girl."

"Those were not my conditions," he said in a growl.

"You see, Doctor, Rose is not mine to give to you. She is to be wed to my son."

"You'll never get to her. She knows what you are and she'll be prepared. You'd rather her die than to just give her the antidote?"

"Oh," Talaith said, smirking, "you don't know, do you?" Her perfect smile widened at the Doctor's expression of confusion and fear. "Meilyr has her below. They're prepping for the wedding as we speak. There is a neighboring kingdom to ours on Fayavenne and the king there has been salivating at the thought of wedding Meilyr to his, rather homely, daughter. If he is already wed before we return home, then Meilyr will not have to refuse her and start a war. My son is nothing if not shrewd."

The Doctor stopped walking and just stood there, glaring at her.

"I tried to warn you against making deals with fairies," she said, frowning in mock pity. "At least you and your friend will still be on the same planet."

"And if I try to stop you?" he asked.

"With what?" Talaith asked. "We've taken your gun and iron. You have no other weapons."

"You forgot about this," the Doctor said, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and pointing it at the glowing orbs over their heads. It buzzed feebly and the blue light flickered, but did no more. Talaith and her men just stood there, staring at him in annoyance. "THIS!" he shouted again, holding the sonic higher. It did nothing. "Needs a good charging," he admitted, lowering his arm and clearing his throat. "Very well then, carry on with the evil plan."

"Restrain him," the queen said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," he said, backing away.

Just then, a ruckus could be heard going on just outside the main door to the fairy mound.

"What the hell is that?" Talaith demanded of her men.

"The calvary, your Majesty," the Doctor said, smiling and bowing low as the door blew open and Torchwood came in firing their stun guns.


	14. Chapter 14

The Doctor tried to keep tabs on Talaith, but it was difficult in all the commotion. Some fairy knights were brandishing odd guns that emitted a yellow glow, but most of them were unarmed and Torchwood was far more trained with modern weapons. The Doctor ran in the direction that he saw Talaith go and take cover, but when he managed to dodge the guns and chaos and duck into the hallway, she was nowhere to be found.

"Doctor!" Pete yelled as he jogged into the hallway. "Where are the children? Where is Rose?"

"Tony and the other children are in cell 505; it is four hallways to our right. Here, follow me. Rose is with Meilyr somewhere here. I need to find her. Talaith got away, though."

"I'll have a team assembled in just a second and then we'll help you find her," Pete said, walking beside the Doctor as they stepped over unconscious fairies.

"We can't just take her out of here, Pete. At sundown, this ship takes off and she's been dosed with their soil to make her addicted to it. If it leaves before she takes an antidote, then she'll get sick and die. The children were given one. We need to find where they're keeping this antidote, so try to find a fairy that knows. Get the children out. I'll find Rose."

"On your own?" Pete asked.

"I've been dosed too," the Doctor said. "We shouldn't risk it happening to anyone else. And…I have a feeling that this is going to take some manipulation on my part to get her out safely." He opened the door to cell 505 and people from Torchwood went in at Pete's command, leading the children out. The Doctor went into the room and picked up the knight costume, rummaging through the felt and loading up his pockets with iron nails.

"We won't give them a choice. They'll have to release Rose or we'll take them all prisoner," Pete argued.

"You don't know what you'd be walking into. If I go by myself, I can…" the Doctor sighed, "I work better alone."

"What are you going to do?" Pete asked him.

"I'm going to be your daughter's knight in shining armor," the Doctor said, throwing the knight's helmet to Pete and running out of the room.

The Doctor ran down the hallway that he was in previously before being interrupted by Pete. He knew he saw Talaith go this way with some of her guards. If only he knew what door they went in!

After what seemed like an eternity opening doors and becoming more and more frustrated with the endless stream of semi-empty sterile rooms, the Doctor finally came to a room full of highly advanced computers all hooked up to a core center that glowed as brightly as the orbs that lighted the space ship. He ran in and went from computer to computer, looking for some clue as to where they would be keeping Rose. Finally, a slow smile crept across his face as he found what he was looking for.

"Oh, that is brilliant," he said leaning closer to the computer screen. "Absolutely brilliant."

The Doctor walked towards the core center and stared up at it with his hands in his pockets. He paced around it for a bit, admiring the technology, before slamming his hand down on all of the buttons at once. The core's light waned and pulsed before releasing a light that shone so brightly that the Doctor had to shield his eyes. Then, a loud whistle sounded.

"Don't like that, do you?" he said to the core center. "C'mon, open up then." The Doctor kept pulling levers and pressing buttons before the core center started to rise up into the ceiling, revealing a steel box that could approximately fit about six grown adults inside. He fiddled with the keypad that was built into the box for a while before becoming frustrated, pulling out his sonic screwdriver, and pointing the useless device at the keypad. The sonic barely made a sound and blinked a couple times before dying all together.

"You traitor," he yelled at the sonic. "I have no TARDIS or psychic paper and I'm down one heart. You will work! You'll do it for her!"

At that, the sonic screwdriver gave a wimpy blue light, but started working just enough for the Doctor to point it successfully at the keypad. Numbers started to scroll across the screen and the steel doors on the box opened to reveal an elevator. The Doctor kissed his sonic and darted inside, hitting buttons on the keypad on his way in to keep the doors open.


	15. Chapter 15

Rose Tyler was standing in a forest that was not a forest. She was no longer disappointed that the fairies' spaceship had looked like a spaceship from the outside. Here, the trees seemed to reach on forever towards an artificial sky and she was surrounded by gigantic flowers and plants that she had no name for. She hadn't ever seen such beautiful, vibrant colors – not even in pictures of rainforests.

She stood at a stone alter with carvings in a language that she could not read (thanks to the TARDIS being absent), in an emerald green silk gown, surrounded by fairy knights holding her at gun point. This was NOT the wedding of her dreams. Meilyr wore crimson damask and a crown so blindingly white that she knew it was not made from a substance that could be found on Earth. He had a tight grip on her arm as a council of fairy elders stood in front of them, performing their marriage in front of a small crowd of abnormally beautiful people. Talaith stood with the council, after insisting that they carry on with the wedding since the Doctor and his friends would never find them in time before the space ship took off. The man with the cane that she and the Doctor had ran into earlier pronounced them…man (or something) and wife (or so she assumed) before Meilyr turned to her and said, "And now you're mine. Our children will be the most beautiful children in the history of Fayavenne."

"Great," Rose muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Don't I get to object," she heard a voice say from the trees. She turned with a grin on her face as the Doctor sauntered through the forest towards them. "And if anyone has any reason for this man and this woman to not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace…and all that nonsense? No? Well, in any case, I object on the grounds that the bride will more than likely want Meilyr to meet her mother…and believe me, Meilyr, I'm saving you the torment."

"You're too late, Doctor," Talaith said with a look of superiority. "They've been wedded."

"Pity," he said. "One dinner at the Tyler house and you'll wish I showed up a couple minutes earlier." He kept coming up to them, strolling along as if he hadn't a care in the world. "How are you?" he asked Rose casually.

"Oh, not too bad. I'm a fairy princess now," she said, smiling wide.

"I can see that," he said as he approached them. "And I hate to tell you, Rose Tyler, but I think it'll be a short lived reign."

"Knights," Meilyr said, pointing to the Doctor.

"Yes, yes, yes… 'restrain him.' But before you do, I'd like the chance to make you a deal concerning the young lady and her freedom," the Doctor said.

"We already have your freedom from the deal that we made earlier, Doctor," Talaith said. "What more could you offer us?"

"You did what?" Rose asked him, shock replacing her relief.

Not surprisingly to Rose, the Doctor ignored her. "But now Torchwood has many of your loyal people and family hostage upstairs. They'll cart them out and keep them in a facility as prisoners. How do the rest of your people feel about their royal family giving up their friends' safety for Meilyr to steal away with one human girl?"

There were murmurs going around the crowd now. Angry faces turned towards Meilyr and his mother.

The old man with the cane turned towards the council of elders and whispered rapidly in a foreign tongue. Then, he came forward to Talaith. "My queen, this cannot be allowed. Those are our people, our kin. I'm afraid that the council has to overrule…"

"Raghnall, the girl is my son's bride. To keep our kingdom, sacrifices have to be made," she said to the old man.

"If this doctor can offer us our people, then the council sees fit to dissolve the marriage," Raghnall said. "You might be our queen, but you are not allowed to ransom us. The people will rise up against you. It is our decision to put the lives of our people over this marriage. Let us release the girl and leave this place. We have earned nothing here."

"You do not have the power to dissolve the marriage with a simple deal!" Meilyr bellowed at him.

"True," Raghnall said with a shake of his snow-capped head. "But in accordance with the law, this doctor does have the right to challenge you for the girl if the marriage is not finalized, the council approves it, and if the girl allows the suitors to compete for her." Then he turned to Rose and took her hand. "Sweet, is it your wish for your doctor to challenge our prince for your freedom?"

Rose looked to the Doctor. He met her eyes, but said nothing. His face was stern, but he did not weigh in on the conversation. He merely stood there, staring at her, with his hands in his pockets and his back as straight as an arrow. She remembered him challenging an alien before, on Christmas day, high above London. He had lost his hand that time. She worried that he might lose something more important now, like his freedom or his life. But this man, this human man, was the Doctor…in a different body, of course, but he could still win. He seemed confident enough and she knew him well enough to know that he probably had something up his sleeve.

She nodded at Raghnall. "Yeah, that's my wish," she said carefully.

"Alright, then," the Doctor said, finally breaking his silence. "What do we have to do? Jousting? Dueling? Dancing? I'm rubbish at dancing, but it wouldn't be the first time I've given any of them a go."

Meilyr stepped away from Rose and glided towards the Doctor. "I sincerely hope that you keep that jovial spirit when you've been defeated, Doctor."

"There will be the traditional five tasks to complete," Raghnall explained to the crowd of on-lookers. "The council will decide the victor of each. If Prince Meilyr wins, then the Doctor turns over the captives and he and the young lady will be returning home with us. If the Doctor wins, then Meilyr must release the Doctor and his bride."

"If I win," the Doctor said, "I will be returning your people to you."

"I thought you were ransoming them?" Talaith said, eyeing the Doctor suspiciously.

"I wanted the chance to secure Rose's freedom. That's all. You've lived up to your end of the bargain. I keep my word. Hopefully you do as well," he explained.

"Fair enough," Raghnall said. "The first task will be to play a song for the young lady on our _vulytte_."

Raghnall raised his hand. Arwin ran forward from the crowd and handed each Meilyr and the Doctor some contraption that resembled a flute carved from wood with crystal adornments. It was as long as a man's arm and looked very complicated. Rose started to worry that the Doctor had gotten in over his head.

The Doctor studied the instrument with a look of perplexity. "Wot?" he muttered under his breath.


	16. Chapter 16

"I'll allow the Doctor to have the first go," Meilyr said pompously.

"How kind of you," the Doctor said. "Well, here it goes." He raised the _vulytte_ to his mouth and blew into it, attempting to play it the best that he could. The sound that came out was ghastly and made Rose grind her teeth. The hair on her arms stood on end and most of the crowd had thrown their hands up to cover their ears.

"Enough!" Meilyr screamed over the horrid, bone chilling noise. The Doctor relented and lowered the instrument with a shrug. "Allow me to show you how it is meant to be played."

Then Meilyr raised his _vulytte_ and let forth a beautiful, haunting melody that had half the crowd in tears by the end of the song. Rose's eyes were on the brink of watering as well, but for a different reason.

When they announced that the next task was to spin straw into gold, Rose threw her hands up in exasperation and yelled out a word that she assumed was not very princess-y.

"That's not even fair," the Doctor said as he watched Meilyr work the spinning wheel with a calm expertise. The Doctor couldn't even get his to wheel to move. He tried to sonic it, before shoving the dead screwdriver back in his pocket and saying to Rose, "It doesn't work on wood, anyway."

"So what's the weather like on Fayavenne?" Rose asked Raghnall.

"Oh, no. Don't you give up on me, Rose Tyler. You're not going anywhere yet," the Doctor said, running up to the altar. "Aren't any of these tasks something that a non-fairy, human-Time Lord hybrid can do?" he asked Raghnall.

"Perhaps this one," Raghnall responded. "On Fayavenne we would have the two men go into the mountains to slay a terrible beast that we have there and bring back on of its horns as a gift for the lady. But we are not on Fayavenne and there is no time to send you out to find a beast. We will have to make due with what we have available. We have a creature that we took from another planet. I will give this gem to a council member to throw into the creature's cage. Both of you will have the chance to retrieve the gem from the cage." He handed the red stone to another old man standing behind him. "Prince Meilyr, your sword, please."

"My sword? Am I not allowed to protect myself?" he asked.

"We need the creature alive, I'm afraid. I cannot allow you to harm it. You'll have to get the gem with other means," Raghnall said.

"And if I die in the attempt?" Meilyr asked. "I am your prince."

"The guards will be there to subdue the creature should it become life threatening," Raghnall explained. Rose had a feeling that Raghnall was not the prince's biggest fan.

"Sounds more your speed," Rose offered to the Doctor, giving him her best empathetic smile.

"Oh yes, right up my alley," he said, following the little troupe into the trees.

They soon reached a pit covered with bars. Rose couldn't see what was in the darkness of the cage, but she heard the awful growls and grunts coming from below. She heard footsteps as well, huge footsteps.

"Doctor…" she said, reaching for him.

"It's alright, Rose. I'll be fine. I'm always fine," he said assuring her.

"When I have the gem from the beast, I'll have it made into a necklace to remind you of my bravery," Meilyr said to her, handing over his sword and preparing to climb down into the cage.

"And then I guess we'll find out if your milkshakes taste as good coming back up," Rose said defiantly.

The Doctor made a disgusted face as they watched Meilyr being lowered down. "A princess shouldn't really talk like that."

"See. I'm just not cut out for this," she said to him. She wanted to hold his hand, but thought better about it. It seemed strange not to, though. That was always the way that they had reassured each other.

Instead, they stood side by side, surrounded by guards, amongst the crowd that had gathered to watch the spectacle. It really didn't take too long. Groans and snarls echoed up at them. The ground beneath their feet trembled and swayed. Rose heard Meilyr yelling, but could not make out what he was saying. Suddenly, a roar so deafening and heart stopping came thundering up as the fairy knights scrambled above the cage. Rose thought for sure that Meilyr would be coming back victorious.

To her relief, she was wrong. When they hauled the prince up, he was gasping and swearing. His beautiful clothing was ruined with dirt and his immaculately groomed hair was a frightful mess. Otherwise, he appeared to be unharmed.

"Give me my sword!" he yelled at the council. "I'll kill the vile thing where it stands! Give it to me!"

"I'm afraid we cannot, my prince," Raghnall said calmly. "You have failed in this task. It is time for the Doctor to try his hand at it."

"No," Rose said, grasping at the Doctor's sleeve. "They'll let it kill you."

"Oh, they wouldn't do that," he said, gently removing her hand and walking forward. "Would you?" he asked Raghnall. "Then they wouldn't get their people back. They need me alive."

"We'll raise you up before it can get to you," Raghnall promised. "Same as we did for Meilyr."

"There ya go," the Doctor said to Rose as he prepared to be lowered down. "Nothing to be afraid of."

She was afraid, however. Later, she would swear that her heart stopped beating the entire time he was down in that cage. Meilyr was still shouting at the council and Talaith was saying things to Rose about destiny and some such nonsense, but she wasn't paying attention to any of it. Those sounds only annoyed her and she tried to block them out so that she could hear what was going on below them. Again, there were bellows and sounds of a large animal enraged. She could make out scraping and stomping and gnashing. Rose closed her eyes and concentrated on listening for the Doctor. And then there was nothing. No snarling. No grunting. The ground was suspiciously still.

Rose opened her eyes in a panic. She started to dash forward before a fairy knight who was looking down into the cage held up his hand and motioned for them to start pulling on the rope. It seemed like an eternity before she could see the Doctor's hair sticking up over the top of the cage. He climbed up, waving off the guards who were trying to help him and then promptly started wiping off his red trainers on the grass.

"You ought to get someone to go down there and clean it up a bit," he complained. "There's mud everywhere. The Povilerus are notorious for being finicky. Their planet is a desert. They're not used to being cold and wet."

"You're alright," Rose gasped with relief.

"I told you not to give up on me yet," he said, tossing the red gem to Rose. She caught it and grinned at him. "Should I have it made into a necklace for you?" he asked while arching an eyebrow at Meilyr. "To remind you of my brilliance?"

"How?" Meilyr demanded, stalking forward towards the Doctor. "I want to know how!"

"That creature you have down there is a Povilerus from the planet Povel. I don't know what you've been feeding it, but it is so angry because it is hungry. The Povilerus' diet consists mainly of starch, sugar, and gluten. You'd be hostile too, if you were running low on sugar and carbohydrates needed for energy. I tossed him a biscuit and then he was quite friendly," the Doctor said, reaching in his pocket and producing a couple ginger snaps.

"Where did you get those?" Talaith hissed at him.

"Sorry. Thought I'd snag a couple to test the effects of your soil," he said, shrugging. "Never thought they'd come in this handy. He'll need some of that tree essence you were talking about earlier to counter act the effects before he's returned back home. You can leave him here for us to do it, or you can promise me that you'll return him. But, in any case, he really should be taken back to his pack. You see, the male Povilerus are like seahorses and he is carrying the eggs of his young until they are ready to hatch. If you take him back to your planet, you'll have to help raise over three hundred of them. Doubt you'll want to do that."

Rose wanted to run up and hug him. But again, she held back in the presence of the fairies. There would be time for that later. He had the chance to win now, and she was confident that he would.

"So not everything is different in this universe," she said instead. "You still know what you're doing."

"Oh yes," he said. "At least the ol' machine is still running." The Doctor tapped the side of his head and walked up to Raghnall. "I believe that I'm ready for the fourth competition now."


	17. Chapter 17

"Archery? Really?" The Doctor asked when they had walked to an open field. Arwen had placed bows in the hands of both the Doctor and the Prince.

"You sound disappointed, Doctor," Meilyr observed.

"I just thought it would be a little more difficult than this. I s'pose I was expecting more after being lowered down into a pit with a hungry alien."

"These arrows are enchanted," Meilyr explained.

"Enchanted how?" the Doctor asked.

"They seek out blood. They won't stop until the tip touches it. We place a drop of blood on the target, but if you shoot and miss the target, the arrow might just whip around and find the blood somewhere else. It could be you, me, my mother, Rose, the council, Arwen… it doesn't matter much to the arrow. It requires skill to be able to get that arrow to hit that drop of blood."

"That's insane. Who came up with that weapon?" the Doctor asked, lowering the bow. "You're risking not only your own life, but that of your mother's and your people for this?"

"It is part of the trials," Raghnall said in a weary voice. "This is ancient and beyond us, Doctor. We agreed to allow the contest; therefore we are all a part of it."

"We will be the ones standing closest to the target, Doctor, if that gives you any solace. It is more likely that if either of us misses, then the arrow will turn on us rather than the others," Meilyr said. "I want you to go first. I'm curious to see what would happen if, and when, you miss."

The Doctor took up the bow, raised his head high, and grabbed the arrow roughly from a visibly terrified Arwen. "You'll put all these people in danger so that you get what you want?" he asked Meilyr fiercely.

"I am the _prince_ of the Unseelie court, Doctor. I always get what I want!" the prince roared.

"And do you know what I am, Meilyr?" the Doctor asked, his lips pulled back in a snarl. "I'm a Time Lord; which means that I _never_ get what I want! Who do you think will fight more for her? I have more to lose here. I've lost everything already – but her. I'm over nine hundred years old and yet I've just been born – for her. She is the reason that I'm here and I'm prepared to put her before myself. And _that_ is why I will win."

"Then go die for your love," Meilyr said to him.

"I already have once," the Doctor practically growled at him. Meilyr started to look confused and a bit frightened at that. "Don't misjudge me, prince of the Unseelie court."

The Doctor stalked off towards the spot marked on the ground and prepared to fire his arrow. Rose had stood silent through the whole exchange, listening to everything that he had said. He had to win; he just had to. She couldn't lose him again – not after all that. Not after everything that he had just said. To anyone else, those might have been the threatening words of a man simply fighting for what he wanted and cared about. But Rose knew him better. He didn't show that sort of emotion easily or often. No, it was not a common thing for the Doctor to lower his guard and bare his soul.

It was an amazing thing to behold, actually. She had never seen the Doctor handle a bow and arrow; and yet, he did so expertly. Of course he did, though. Nine hundred years, and what did she think, that he had never shot an arrow before? He threw her one last meaningful look before he swallowed, set his jaw, aimed, and fired. She had a moment of absolute fear before realizing that the arrow had embedded itself in the target without fail.

The Doctor threw the bow down on the ground where he stood and turned to Meilyr with a look of disdain. "Your turn," he said simply and eyed the Prince as he passed him.

Rose was expecting that he would come to stand next to her as he had been doing, but the Doctor stopped about ten paces away from her and turned to watch Meilyr shoot his arrow.

_He's standing between me and the arrow_, she realized.

Meilyr aimed to fire, but broke his concentration for one more sideways, contemptuous glance in the Doctor's direction before letting the arrow loose. That was his mistake. His pride had gotten the better of him. He obviously wanted to let the Doctor know that he would have the upper hand, but his hubris had cost him the shot.

The arrow started towards the target, but then turned abruptly and started sailing off in a rogue direction. Meilyr was able to jump to the side quick enough, but the arrow had already picked its target and it wasn't the prince – it was Talaith.

She stood at the opposite end of the field from Rose. Her beautiful eyes grew large and panicked when she realized that the arrow was coming in her direction. Really, it only took a second and Rose hardly had any time to process what was happening. The Doctor took off running in Talaith's direction before anyone could say anything – before Rose even had the chance to call out.

And, quick as a wink, it was done. The Doctor had run in front of the fairy queen and given the arrow a new direction. Rose cried out when she saw the arrow sail towards him and she took off running herself after she saw him fall.

"_I've only got one life_," she could remember him saying.

_One life – just one_, she kept thinking as she raced towards him. _No, no, no!_

She fell to her knees beside him and began to grab at his shoulder to turn him over. Before she could lift him, however, the Doctor turned on his own and started to sit up.

"Bloody hell, that smarts!" he exclaimed, holding his right upper arm.

Rose practically tackled him in front of everyone. "You scared me!" she said as she hugged him.

"Oh, I'm alright. Just grazed," he said against her shoulder before gently prying her off of him and picking up the arrow off of the ground. He stood and handed it to Talaith. "It got the blood it wanted."

"Thank you, Doctor," she said, still in shock. In fact, everyone was. No one had spoken. No one had moved. Rose could almost hear the collective breath being released. "I'll have a healer look at your arm," Talaith said to him.

"No need," he said, pulling his hand away. It was red with blood, but the arrow didn't do much damage. He looked at the wound for a second and then shook his arm about. "I'll be right as rain in a couple days."

"Why would you do that?" Talaith asked him.

"That's what I do," he said to her; as if that should be answer enough.

"We…we still have one more task," Meilyr said, coming towards them slowly with apprehension.

"Right!" the Doctor yelled angrily, making everyone within hearing distance wince. "Let's get on with it, then. I'm a bit anxious to get this over with."


	18. Chapter 18

Raghnall cleared his throat and gathered himself from the shock. "The last task… it will be for the two men to sacrifice something. It will be their gifts to the gods of nature. Since we had no time to prepare, it will have to be something that you both have on your person and the gods will decide which gift is more precious. If you will all follow me back to the altar, we will begin."

The Doctor made a face. Rose knew why. He didn't have the best of luck with anything that considered itself a god. She was also dreading this last task. What could the Doctor have brought with him to Avalon that would be a better gift than anything Meilyr could offer? She felt that the prince had the upper hand in this one as well. As far as she knew, the Doctor had a couple of ginger snaps and a dead sonic screwdriver.

When they returned to the altar and the crowd of fairies, some of the council members were piling what looked like logs that were covered in purple moss on a huge stone fire pit.

"You'll each throw your sacrifice into the fire," Raghnall explained. "The fire will turn green for the first man or purple for the second. The two of you can decide who will go first once the fire is lit."

Soon, bright orange flames reached towards the branches of the trees, dwarfing the altar and giving the whole forest a sinister glow. The Doctor gestured with his good hand for Meilyr to go fist.

"For Rose's hand," Meilyr began, walking towards the fire. "I will sacrifice my sword. She is named Sunset and I was given her when I was just a child. This is the first blade that I ever wielded. It is the most valuable thing that I own." With that, he unsheathed the sword and threw it into the flames. They hissed in response and seemed to grow bigger.

"And now you, Doctor," Raghnall said.

The Doctor walked forward, hands in his pockets. When he pulled his hands out, his left one was holding the TARDIS coral.

"No," Rose gasped, but the Doctor held up his finger to her without looking in her direction.

"This is all I have, not only on my person but all I have in this world, besides Rose," he said solemnly as he chucked the coral into the fire. It shuddered when the piece of the TARDIS was engulfed and immediately died down to a fire of a more manageable size. Everyone waited silently as the Doctor turned and walked back to the altar. Behind him, the flames started to fade into an unmistakable, bright amethyst purple.

"I don't understand!" Meilyr yelled at the council. "A rock? He threw in a rock! How is that more valuable than my blade?"

"You can forge a new sword," Raghnall said calmly to the seething prince. "Whatever that rock was that the Doctor threw into the fire was irreplaceable. It was something that he can never have again. There is nothing like it in this world."

The Doctor rubbed his hand over his face. "Correct," he said to Raghnall.

"Why?" Rose asked him, stunned.

"It doesn't mean anything without you. Time and space; what good would it be to me now?" he told her.

Talaith came over to them and produced a little, glass container of the clear liquid that she had given the children. "I believe that you've earned this," she said, with an actual kind smile.

The Doctor handed it to Rose. "Take a swig," he said. "It'll counter act the effects of their addictive soil." She did as he said and then handed it back for him to drink from. "Hmm," he said, "liquorice-y."

"And now your end of the deal?" Talaith asked him.

"Torchwood is right outside waiting for us. We'll send in your people as soon as I can talk to them."

"We'll see you escorted out," Raghnall said and started to lead the Doctor and Rose away from the altar. But as they passed by the still purple fire, it welled and flourished. The Doctor grabbed Rose's waist and pushed her behind him as the flames seemed to explode and expand, becoming a color that Rose knew all too well - TARDIS blue. Suddenly, something came flying out in their direction. Before the Doctor could pull Rose to the ground, the TARDIS coral landed at his feet. He stared at it, confused.

"The gods are good," Raghnall said. "They've rewarded your courage."

The Doctor picked up the coral and stuck it back in his pocket. "Then tell them 'thank you' for me.

Raghnall nodded and they started to make their way towards the metal elevator when Meilyr started to kick up a fuss.

"He sacrificed that! By all rights, it should be ours now. It isn't a true sacrifice otherwise!" he screeched at the council.

"The gods saw fit to reward him," Raghnall said.

"Come, my son," Talaith said to a shaking Meilyr. "Let us return home with our dignity. We should at least have that."

"Dignity?" he spat at her. "We've gained nothing. You're all blind! This doctor tricked us. I will not be fooled as you all are. You may hold the title of queen, Mother, but I hold the throne. Knights, seize the rock! Pry it from his dead hands if you have to."

The knights, although confused, moved to advance on the Doctor and Rose.

"If I were you," Raghnall said to them, "I would run."

"Fair enough," the Doctor said, grabbing Rose's hand. "Allons-y." With that, they took off towards the elevator.


	19. Chapter 19

He pulled Rose inside before the knights could get to them. Up they went, both of them gasping for breath and laughing in spite of themselves.

"Reckon they're still behind us?" Rose asked.

"Oh, I believe so," the Doctor said. "We'll have to get out of here as fast as we can. Hopefully Torchwood is ready for us."

"Then I'll have to do somethin' about this," she said, gesturing to the gown that she was still wearing. She bent down and ripped some of the bottom off of it.

"You're wearing trainers," the Doctor said, smiling with amusement, "with your wedding dress."

"I knew you'd come," she said to him. "Had to be ready to run."

"Well, Rose Tyler," he said as the doors opened, "let's see if we've still got it!" He grabbed her hand again and they raced through the little control room, out into the blindingly white corridor, through the dark cavern, and out into Avalon. When they got to the room marked "Employees Only," they heard footsteps and shouting behind them. "Blimey, you'd think they had wings," the Doctor jeered.

"Very funny," Rose said. "They're going to catch up with us in a minute."

"Not if I can help it," he said, grinning as he pulled iron nails out of his trouser pockets.

"Have you got Elvis hidden in there too?" she asked as they kept running.

"Wot?" he asked, scrunching up his face and pulling her over to the bouncy castle.

"Doctor, what are you doing?"

"Giving us a head start," he said as he tossed some nails to her. He began to pop the nails into the blow up castle, releasing the air.

Rose got the idea and started doing the same. They ran through Avalon, deflating every drawbridge, stone, and tower. Behind them, the balloon structures fell, hissing air as they went down, covering the knights that were on their heels. Rose and the Doctor darted about, ducking under the falling castle and making their way to the exit. Before they reached the door, they turned around to see moving shapes struggling under the weight of the deflated play place. The Doctor grabbed Rose and spun her around, ushering her quickly out into the fading sunlight.

They were surrounded by Torchwood operatives the second that they exited Avalon. Before they had a chance to speak, men were loading them into a van with Pete.

"Thank God you're alright," Pete said, pulling them both in for a hug.

"Pete," the Doctor said, pushing away from him, "we need to release the fairies that you took earlier. That ship is going to set off and I promised them that we would return their people to them. We're unharmed. Those fairies need to be allowed to go home."

"Unharmed, huh?" Pete asked, gesturing to the Doctor's wounded arm.

"That was my own doing," the Doctor said seriously. "Please, release them."

"Alright," Pete said. "I'll get right on it." Rose's father got on a radio to tell his men to let the fairies go. Rose was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and sink back into the cushioned seat of the van. They were going home.


	20. Chapter 20

Pete had insisted that they stop at the Torchwood facility first to be debriefed, but one phone call from Jackie Tyler, and he changed his mind. "Your mother wants you to rest at home," he told her. "I suppose we can meet with Torchwood about this when you meet with Torchwood about your little journey through dimensions too." He shrugged. "I'll have them send over the doctor that looked at Tony to overlook the two of you and make sure that whatever they gave you is out of your system."

Rose thought the Doctor would object to that, but he didn't. He continued to look out the window as if he wasn't paying attention. Rose knew better.

When they got home, they were promptly attacked by Rose's mother in the entry way. She squished them both against her, grabbing Rose by her shoulder and the Doctor by his lapel. "Oh, the pair of ya just give me fits. You know that?" she asked them through happy tears. Then she pinched the visually uncomfortable Doctor's cheek. "And I've never been so glad to see you." He smiled down at her. "Does trouble just take a likin' to ya where ever you go?" she asked as his smile faded.

"Seems like it," he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, c'mon. I bet you're starvin'" she said as she pushed them towards the kitchen.

In truth, neither the Doctor nor Rose was very hungry. The Doctor paced around the kitchen, opening cupboards while Rose told her mother what had happened after she had changed into her own clothes. All that resulted in was another hug attack for the both of them.

"I want to tell you that the fairies have flown home," Pete said after taking a call on his mobile in the other room. "Torchwood oversaw their departure. And all the ones that we had in custody were released."

"Brilliant," the Doctor said.

"I'm really interested to get those biscuits to the lab and have them tested. Want to come along?" Pete asked the Doctor.

Jackie elbowed Pete in the ribs. "Let's call it a night, alright? I've been cryin' all day and now I'm ready for bed. I'm just happy to 'ave both my children under this roof again. You can do all that in the morning."

"Alright," Pete said, relenting. "But I do have to get back to Torchwood. This paperwork isn't going to file itself."

They all said their goodnights and after Pete left the house, Jackie gave the Doctor and Rose one last long hug and climbed the stairs to her room. This left Rose and the Doctor standing in the kitchen. Rose realized that neither of them had sat down since they left the van. Too amped up, she figured. They stood there, looking at each other in silence for a moment before their faces spread into wide grins. Then they both doubled over with laughter.

"Oh, we've still got it," the Doctor said between chuckles.

"Mum's right though," Rose said. "Not even a week in this universe and we're already findin' trouble."

"I believe that trouble found you. I was just along for the ride," he said.

"I've never been stolen by fairies, or chased by a werewolf, or captured by a reality show, or trapped underneath a black hole until I met you," she pointed out.

The Doctor walked over to her, put his hands back in his pockets, and looked down at his feet. "Would you change any of it?"

A million different responses ran through Rose's mind. Change any of it? She couldn't imagine not knowing him. She couldn't imagine a world where the Doctor didn't exist. A couple years ago, she had gotten a taste of that and it was the darkest period of her life. And now, here he was again. The Doctor, but not the Doctor; a brand new Doctor; her Doctor. For the first time ever, they actually had a future – together. No curse of the Time Lords. No mortality standing in their way. No Daleks. No Cybermen. No other dimensions between them. No Bad Wolf Bay. Just them, standing in her kitchen.

She couldn't think of anything to say to answer his question. No words seemed to be able to convey her answer. Nothing seemed _strong_ enough; except for one thing.

Rose closed the small gap between them and gently put her hands on the sides of his face. He lifted his eyes to meet hers and gave her a small smile. Before she lost her nerve, she pressed her lips to his and proceeded to give him a kiss that rivaled the one that they had on Bad Wolf Bay. At first, she felt him tense up in surprise, his eyes growing wide, but soon his body relaxed against hers and he deepened the kiss, clutching the fabric on the sides of her jumper and pulling her closer to him before sliding his wounded arm around her waist and moving the other hand up into her hair. Time usually seemed to move too fast when he was involved. Rose always felt like they were running around a clock – never stopping, never settling. Not this time. There was nothing to interrupt them now. Time stopped in that kitchen with their kiss.

When they finally broke apart, the Doctor's jaw was slack in shock and his eyes were unfocused. Rose knew that she was probably in a similar state. Both of them were breathing raggedly and a little unsure about what had just happened. It took a moment for Rose to realize that he had moved them and she was now pressed up between the Doctor and the kitchen counter.

"Well…" he said, his adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Oh yes," the Doctor replied before starting to hold back more laughter.

"You're laughin' at me?" she asked him, narrowing her eyes in confusion.

"Just realized that I'm kissing a married woman," he said.

"Shut up," she said, giggling and playfully smacking his chest.

"Make me," he whispered against her lips.

"Oh, getting' bold are ya?"

"Is that a problem?" he asked, almost challenging.

"Just…different."

"New Doctor," he said, still not backing away from her.

"Hmm," she mused, fixing his tie. "I think I could get used to this Doctor. Did you mean all that stuff you said before, when we were in the fairy mound?"

"I've meant everything I've said," he answered, those big brown eyes burning into hers. "And, Rose Tyler, it does need saying." Then he gingerly kissed her forehead, and then lightly kissed her lips. "I love you," he said, repeating the words that he had whispered in her ear on Bad Wolf Bay.

"I love you, my Doctor," she said to him, smiling with her tongue between her teeth.

He ran his hand through her hair one last time before moving away from her. "We should get sleep. Brand new adventures to have and all."

"Yeah," she agreed, albeit with a little disappointment. "Living our lives one day at a time."

"But this time, I'll get to have that adventure," he said, a lilt of excitement coloring his voice.

Rose fell asleep that night feeling anxious for the next day. She couldn't remember that happening in this dimension since she came here. Time and space could wait. They had a lifetime to spend together.


	21. Chapter 21

_Epilogue_

I'm writing my own novel and recently doubled my cast, causing me to struggle with character "voices" or personalities… how they speak, what they do with their hands, their actions, certain phrases or words that they like to use, etc. I needed to set them apart from one another through their speech and reactions. So I decided to start reading some fanfiction along with other novels to see how other authors do this. I've found that fanfiction of television shows works well because the author has to describe something that we normally see – not read. And I really liked fanfiction with the 10th Doctor and Rose because they – and the cast that comes along with them – all really have their own distinctive characteristics and voices.

I started writing this piece of fanfiction as a writing exercise and experiment with capturing the "essence" of the characters. It was a nice, quick vacation from writing my own novel and I believe that it really helped give me a fresh outlook. I hope that people enjoy reading it as much I enjoyed writing it.

The main concern of mine was making this little fluffy fanfiction read like an actual episode of Doctor Who. I wanted to stay true to the characters; which is why you won't find much angst or romance in this one. I just don't believe that the Doctor – even a human version of the Doctor would cry and brood…and I don't believe that he would allow Rose to do it either. I wanted to write an upbeat, science fiction adventure that captured the fun, fast-paced energy of the show. Hopefully, I did right by it.

You probably also found that I made most of it from Rose's perspective and only used the Doctor's perspective when needed for the action. I did this because I felt that certain aspects of the Doctor should remain a mystery. He doesn't share a lot of his thoughts and emotions with the reader in this because he doesn't do that much with the viewer on the show. I enjoy following his lead through the eyes of his companion so that we can feel as if we are on the adventure with them. He hides certain things and plays his cards close to his chest in order to leave us guessing about him. So I wanted that to come though in this short story as well.

Reviews are certainly welcomed as I would like to receive feedback on my writing. Thank you for reading!

*****Revised and edited version. Still trying to perfect it!****


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